Ice Mine in Leisenring finalist in ‘Renovate the Rink’ contest
FThose casting votes in favor of The Ice Mine include Matthew Ptacek, of Connellsville, and his daughter, Julia, 10. “We’re here every Friday and Saturday and she has Little Penguins,’’ said Ptacek as the father and daughter prepared to take to the ice. Vote at www.pittsburghpenguins.com/renovatetherink
While The Ice Mine in Leisenring didn't win the Renovate the Rink contest, a new competition presented by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Commercial Construction (PittComm), owner Cheryl Liptak said, “We want to thank everybody who voted for us. It humbled us to see how many were rooting for us and how many wanted us to succeed.'' In this February photo, Cheryl Liptak, left, owner; Jen O’Hern, a facility manager, and Bernie Liptak, owner, all of Grindstone, overlook skaters on the ice rink.
Frances Borsodi Zajac|Herald-Standard
Jen O’Hern, of Grindstone, left, a facility manager and vice president of The Ice Miners, a youth hockey team that plays at The Ice Mine, and her son, Chase O’Hern, show off one of the locker rooms that would benefit from renovations. This room has chairs but no benches and no shelves for the players to put their personal items and gear. Voting continues through Feb. 22 at www.pittsburghpenguins.com/renovatetherink.
Frances Borsodi Zajac|Herald-Standard
Jen O’Hern, of Grindstone, a facility manager and vice president of The Ice Miners, a youth hockey team that plays at The Ice Mine, shows off one of the locker rooms that would benefit from renovations. This room has chairs but no benches and shelves that are not adequate for the players to put their personal items and gear. Voting continues through Feb. 22 at www.pittsburghpenguins.com/renovatetherink.
Frances Borsodi Zajac|Herald-Standard
Cheryl Liptak, owner; Jen O’Hern, a facility manager, and Bernie Liptak, owner, all of Grindstone, overlook skaters on the ice rink at The Ice Mine in Leisenring, one of three finalists for the Renovate the Rink’’ contest, a new competition presented by the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and Pittsburgh Commercial Construction (PittComm). Voting continues through Feb. 22 at www.pittsburghpenguins.com/renovatetherink.
Frances Borsodi Zajac|Herald-Standard
From left, Jen O’Hern, facility manager; Cheryl and Bernie Liptak, owners, all of Grindstone, enjoy the new Ice Side Grill restaurant that overlooks the ice rink at The Ice Mine in Leisenring. The Ice Mine is one of three finalists in the “Renovate the Rink’’ contest, a new competition presented by the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and Pittsburgh Commercial Construction (PittComm). Voting continues through Feb. 22 at www.pittsburghpenguins.com/renovatetherink.
Frances Borsodi Zajac|Herald-Standard
Wyatt DeBord, left, 15, who moved to Morgantown from Nashville to be part of The Ice Miners, talks with Jeff Fleck, general manager of The Ice Mine and president of The Ice Miners. DeBord said, “It’s a good environment. You get to play in a big stadium, and they’re all nice people.’
Frances Borsodi Zajac|Herald-Standard
Madilyn Bryner, of Dunbar, left, and Lexy Mahalek, of Connellsville work the snack bar at The Ice Mine in Leisenring, which is one of three finalists in the “Renovate the Rink’’ contest, a new competition presented by the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and Pittsburgh Commercial Construction (PittComm). Voting continues through Feb. 22 at www.pittsburghpenguins.com/renovatetherink.
Frances Borsodi Zajac|Herald-Standard
Dawn Johnston, of Vanderbilt, right, takes Kelsonn Sherwood, 5, around the roller rink at The Ice Mine in Leisenring, which is one of three finalists in the “Renovate the Rink’’ contest, a new competition presented by the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and Pittsburgh Commercial Construction (PittComm). Voting continues through Feb. 22 at www.pittsburghpenguins.com/renovatetherink.
The voting is on!
Officials at The Ice Mine in Leisenring are getting out the vote for the “Renovate the Rink” contest, a new competition presented by the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and Pittsburgh Commercial Construction (PittComm).
“They can vote every day, one per day per email address,” explained Jen O’Hern, of Grindstone, a facility manager and vice president of The Ice Miners, a youth hockey team that plays at The Ice Mine.
Fan voting continues through Feb. 22 and will determine the winner of the grand prize, which is $100,000 in renovations with materials and construction management services provided by the Penguins Foundation and PittComm.
The Ice Mine is one of three finalists in the contest. The others are Hess Ice Rink in New Castle and Kirk S. Nevin Arena in Greensburg. A video about each of the facilities can be viewed on the voting website at www.pittsburghpenguins.com/renovatetherink.
Bernie and Cheryl Liptak, of Grindstone, who purchased The Ice Mine in 2016, recently welcomed the media along with O’Hern and Jeff Fleck, general manager of the facility of president of The Ice Miners, to talk about the contest and show off the facilities.
“It’s very overwhelming and exciting,” said Cheryl Liptak.
“It’s all good,” said Bernie Liptak.
To boost interest in the contest, The Ice Mine is hosting a Renovate the Rink Celebration from 6 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 15 during the public skating period.
O’Hern explained, “Receive a dollar off admission if you bring in proof that you voted. It can be on your phone or you can print it out. You’ll also be given a raffle ticket and, at the end of the night, we’ll pick a winner who will receive two tickets to the March 10 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins game at 7:30 p.m. at the PPG Paints Arena.”
The March 10 game is when the Renovate the Rink winner will be announced. The Liptaks, Jeff and Kim Fleck and Jen and Aaron O’Hern will attend the game to represent The Ice Mine.
Fleck noted the public can receive discount tickets for the game through a link on The Ice Mine’s Facebook page.
Fleck and O’Hern were among those who entered The Ice Mine last fall in this new contest, which was open to rinks in Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
“You needed one nomination to be in, but the more nominations you had, it helped you,” said O’Hern.
Those submitting nominations had to answer questions that included: what makes your rink so important to the community, how would the renovations benefit your community and why should your rink be chosen?
More than 400 entries were received and 16 rinks were nominated before the finalists were selected. Voting began Feb. 1.
Regardless of the outcome, The Chemours Company, an official partner of the NHL, will recognize all three finalists by providing them with a set of divider boards to assist with their on-ice programming and youth development. Chemours produces Opteon refrigerants, the preferred refrigerant solution of the NHL.
But The Ice Mine officials and supporters are hoping to bring the win back to Fayette County.
Those casting votes in favor of The Ice Mine include Matthew Ptacek, of Connellsville, and his daughter, Julia, 10.
“We’re here every Friday and Saturday and she has Little Penguins,” said Ptacek as the father and daughter prepared to take to the ice.
Little Penguins, a learn to play hockey program, is one of many programs for all ages and abilities offered at The Ice Mine. It is home to the FAYHA (Fayette Area Youth Hockey Association), the Ice Miners of the PAHL, scholastic hockey, and Learn to Skate.
Besides local residents, the facility attracts people from as far away as Cranberry Township, West Virginia and Maryland.
Wyatt DeBord, 15, moved to Morgantown from Nashville to be part of The Ice Miners.
“We came here because it’s such a family-oriented, community-based rink,” said Ralene DeBord, his mother. “He’s played all over.”
Wyatt said, “It’s a good environment. You get to play in a big stadium and they’re all nice people.”
The Ice Mine, which is approximately 85,000 square feet, features an Olympic-size ice rink, a roller skating rink, locker rooms, snack bar and newly opened restaurant called the Ice Side Grill.
But there is room for improvement.
“They ultimately determine what will be done, but we can give them ideas,” said Fleck, who noted, “They seem to be leaning towards locker rooms and flooring. It’s a huge need for us.”
The Ice Mine’s locker rooms have chairs but no benches and little or no shelves to store personal items and gear. Improvements are needed to the flooring and lighting.
If The Ice Mine wins the competition, work is expected to be done in late spring and summer.
Meanwhile, voting continues with O’Hern noting, “This is such a great opportunity for the community.”