Old-time Hockey at Fair Park

There's a new sheet of ice for those of us who work downtown and want more conveniently timed open ice. Dallas Ice at Fair Park opened recently (although you'd never know it from the lack of available info). It's in the Fair Park Coliseum, where the Dallas Blackhawks used to play. I haven't been yet, but it sounds old school. Think Hanson brothers.

Anyway, I called Jim From, who runs the place, to get the skinny since the Fair Park website fairly well SUX. Here's what he told me about open ice. In short, there's a lot of it.

• There's daily open skating from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It's $6. It's strictly skating, but From said you can do sticktime if there's no one else there. "As a rule," he said, "you're not going to have anybody else here." Sounds like a good plan for lunchtime workouts.
• He said if there were a half-dozen people who wanted sticktime on a weekday afternoon, he'd convert it to sticktime.
• He has started what he calls the Dallas Fair Park Hockey Association. They trying to form two teams now and up to eight teams later. Let me explain about this league. It's open division. He said there will be players of all levels on the same teams. Sounds kind of kooky. Really, it sounds like pickup hockey although he kept saying they're going to keep the teams together each week. The cost is $15 per session. They skate in two sessions on Tuesday nights -- 7:15 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. When the teams are put together, they'll play twice a week, once for practice and once for a game. Just show up if you want to play.
• He said you can call the rink at all hours for an updated recording of ice times: 214-421-7800. Soon they'll have a website. For all other questions, call From at: 817-235-1652.
• Don't count on a lot of amenities. Like I said, it's old school, even rustic.

According to a history on the Stars' website (http://www.dallasstars.com/stars/history.jsp), Fair Park was the first site of professional hockey in Dallas, way back in 19 and 41. Quoth the history: "It was a strange and unusual site, as the Fair Park Ice Arena welcomed the sport from the North to the citizens of Dallas for the first time. Advertised in the papers as 'The most dangerous game in the world…murder on ice, it has been called…with playing speed, flashing blades and crashing bodies,' the lights came up on a debut unlike any other."

Amen, brother.

Old-time Hockey II

I swung by the Fair Park Coliseum at lunch to check it out. I was right: It's like going back in time.

To be honest, the place is a bit of a dump, not having been used for skating of any kind in 20 years. They're still installing the glass and board supports, and they haven't installed the benches yet. The ice looked good. There was one lonely skater at 12:30 p.m. on a weekday.

Being in there, though, you just expect Paul Newman and the Hansons to pop out at any minute and skate around. The atmosphere is like nothing else around. I must skate there just once to say I did it.

Week 3 Highlights

Results from Feb. 4:

Fugaweez 1, Ice Holes 1 (tie): Two undefeated teams -- and co-keg champs last season -- battle to a draw. Scott Dolbee scores for Fugaweez (2-0-1). Glenn Thompson scores for Ice Holes (2-0-1). Shots are 21-12 for Ice Holes. Goalie Bobby Michaelides stops 20 of 21 for Fugaweez. And a clean game to boot. One penalty. Photo above: Tired teams bid farewell ... until playoffs?

Stickmen 4, Blue Devils 1: Ed Boorley scores twice and Stef Trapp has two assists as Stickmen (1-2) beat Blue Devils despite getting just 7 shots on net. Scott Speelman scores for the Blue Devils (1-2) in the third period on an Eric Hogentogler assist. Stickmen adds an empty netter in the last minute.

Phantoms 2, Brewzers 0: Bobby Sirkis gets two goals as Phantoms (2-1) bounce back from a tumultuous loss to Fugaweez in Week 2. It's a rough-and-tumble game, with 14 penalties, including a game misconduct on Jamil Jabril. Phantoms have five roughing penalties. Brewzers drop to 1-2.

Snipers 3, REDRUM 1: Patrick Donaghue stops 32 of 33 shots in the Snipers' (1-2) first victory. Snipers get goals from Blue Devils' regular Greg Sargent, David Counce and Kerry Brown. Brown adds an assist. REDRUM (1-2) doesn't score until late.

Patriots 3, Wolverines (Spyders) 2: Butch Hutchinson scores unassisted with 8.7 seconds left to lift the Patriots (3-0) in a thriller. Wolverines (0-3) knot the game 2-2 with about two minutes remaining, and it looked headed to a tie when Hutchinson scored. Other Patriots goals: Josh Piccirillo and Jeff Eagle. Both teams get 33 shots. The Wolverines have been merged with remnants of other squads, including Puckers, and renamed Spyders.

Standings After Games of Feb. 4