Minnesota Ice Never Melts

by barbaragarn

What do you like best about summer hockey? For me, three things stand out.

 

I love the feel of walking from a sweltering 90 degrees into the cool bliss of 30s and 40s of the rink. Hot days can feel like someone wrapped a wet towel around my face–just getting into the drier air makes me feel almost buoyant.

 

I love that I can stand around talking in the parking lot after the game. In the dead of winter, people speed to the sanctuary of a warm car. Nobody wants to chat as the sweat in their hair turns to ice.

But in the summer… we linger in the twilight. The weather feels perfect, and then a breeze kicks up and it’s even better.

 

The last best thing about summer hockey isn’t even at the rink itself. Gear never seems to get REALLY dry any other time of year; spring and fall are too wet, and winter is too frozen. But on a sunny Saturday… just spread that funky mess across your driveway and let the sun bake it clean. It actually feels lighter after a day airing in the bright heat.

 

Summer is my favorite time to play hockey. Yeah, some rinks can get foggy, or if the ice sits to long it gets weirdly sticky. But I’ll take that over slogging through the snowbanks off-balance with an unwieldy giant bag. Summer hockey is awesome.

 

What do you like about summer hockey?