Elliot Lake skaters and hockey players looking for ice out of town following arena shutdown

The sudden closing of Elliot Lake's arena has left hockey and skating clubs scrambling to find a place to play this season.

The northern Ontario city of 11,000 people announced earlier this week it was shutting down Centennial Arena for the "foreseeable future," while engineers examine the wooden structure of the 55-year-old rink.

"It is frustrating for the families living here, because it just seems like bad news after bad news," said Kate Wannan from the Elliot Lake Minor Hockey Association.

That list of bad news includes the deadly roof collapse at the city's mall in 2012, the collapse of the arts centre in 2019 and Elliot Lake's swimming pool, which has been closed for repairs since June 2022. 

So Wannan says when she heard this news, she wanted to make sure the town's spirits didn't sink any lower.

This week she quickly made arrangements for Elliot Lake's 100 young hockey players to hit the ice in the nearby towns of Massey and Blind River, with practices starting in the first week of October instead of next week. 

"I just wanted to make sure that I found a solution for everybody so they wouldn't feel so devastated. So everyone is looking up," said Wannan. 

"It's been like a really long 48 hours of trying to scramble and we're just so thankful for the outlying communities helping us so much and for all the patience and understanding from all the parents."

She said no families have cancelled their registration despite the longer nights for kids having to travel an extra 45 minutes to the rink. 

The Elliot Lake Vikings junior hockey team also needed to find some new home ice after the announcement. 

"We've become a road team really," said coach and general manager Chris Keleher.

He says the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League team is very appreciative that the arenas in Massey, Blind River and Espanola are fitting them in, despite the ice-time schedule already being quite busy. 

"You know any support we can get from our home fans that will follow us on the road, I know it will mean a lot to our boys," said Keleher. 

Elliot Lake did have plans in recent years to build a new multi-million-dollar arena, but they were shelved after the city could not secure the provincial funding needed to get it off the drawing board. 

"I know this is not the news our community expected or wanted to hear. It certainly is not the news I wanted to have to share. But this is a hard decision made with a focus on safety," acting Mayor Andrew Wannan, who is Kate's brother, said in a statement. 

"As a community, we have been through a lot over the years. Every time we have faced adversity we have pulled together as a team. I am confident we can do the same thing now."