Marc Ciampa

Only one team has more than one shootout victory this NHL season and that team will be taking the ice at Rexall Place tonight.

No it’s not the league-leading Detroit Red Wings, it’s the Edmonton Oilers. And they don’t have two shootout wins, they have three.

Last year, the Oilers had three shootout victories all season long. Oilers centre Jarret Stoll, who has one shootout marker of his own this season, chalks this year’s success up to an increased skill level throughout the team.

Custom Ice,

Having grown up in a small town north of Minneapolis it has always been my dream to have an ice rink in my backyard.  Those dreams, so I thought, were vanished when I graduated from college and moved to Kansas City, Missouri to start my career.  Boy was I wrong!  As my business and family grew I decided I would see if I could make this dream come true.  Thru some research I was able to find Custom Ice.  What a blessing, from Jodi, Brendan and Dave, my dream became a reality.  When designing our dream home, I started with a 36 x 44 sheet of Ice and designed the house around it, what we ended up with was a winter wonder land where the kids (four of them ranging in age from 6 to 10) can skate for hours and we can either join them or watch comfortable form the inside. (see pictures).  Wow, words cannot describe the joy and satisfaction we are experiencing in our backyard rink!  The hours of family time are endless, the gathering spot we have created for our kids and their friends, and then there are the grown ups who remember their childhood skating memories.  Our thanks to Custom Ice for helping us make this dream come true! 

Best Regards,
Guy, Diana, Gavin, Grace, Glori and Gage Gronberg
Lee’s Summit, Missouri (suburb of Kansas City

“We had an awesome time this winter on the rink you sold us.  After some very minor glitches that you quickly resolved for us and were partly our own fault, the equipment worked very well.  We had ice through one of the warmest winters on record in lower New York State.  The entire family spent hours outside on the rink as did many neighborhood children.  We had a lot of fun, the kids are learning to be great skaters and we got to spend a lot of time out doors during the winter.  The cost / benefit of your system is more than worth it assuming the equipment is as durable as you say it is.  The fast friendly resolution of the few problems we had is also most appreciated.”

"When we planned our Custom Ice Rink for our first winter season in 2005, we hoped to have ice from mid-November through the end of March-- this would have given us almost two more months than the local parks because of the warming over the past decade in Montreal.   Amazinly, with the use of a rink cover during the daytime in April, we were able to skate almost every night right through till May 1st.  We are now in our second season and approaching May 1st with almost 9 inches of solid ice.  We are not sure how long we will be able to go... end of May? June?   It's incredible fun!!!!"

Terry Duffy, Toronto, ON

“Well, the service of Custom Ice is superb.  Nice, friendly people and try to accommodate their clients as best they can.  My children, wife, neighbors and friends love the ice rink.  All my kids play hockey and it is a ball to have a 2 on 2 game of shinny with the family.  My sons slap shot is the hardest, fastest and most accurate on the team.  My only suggestion for the rink, is that a roof would make it much easier to maintain.”

Pete Thalmann, Holliston, MA

“Our rink has given our family a great winter destination … our own backyard!  Unlike most of today’s kids, our kids are growing up as “outdoor kids”.  They are enjoying the type of winters that I enjoyed on the neighborhood ponds.  We now have a new tradition of ongoing hockey games at our large family gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Much like a greens-keeper at a golf course, I take pride in maintaining and presenting a nice ice surface.  I landscaped the setting with stonewalls and plantings much as a pool owner would do.  I had 4 years of operation without a failure of any kind.  In the 5th year the coolant pump failed and I now keep a spare pump on site.  With a spare pump handy, you can be back running in a couple of hours with no loss of ice.”

“Dear Custom Ice,

     I just wanted to drop a note to tell you how pleased we are with our portable rink. This rink system is absolutely amazing, it was real easy to get up and running. I can’t express how much my kids and I enjoyed this winter. The kids would get home from school do their homework and would be out on the rink the rest of the night. I had trouble getting them to practice; they didn’t want to get off the rink. We would have huge two on two tournaments on the weekend. The kids would shovel off the ice during the day when needed and I would flood at night. The flooder worked really well and was actually fun to do. We were going to get a inground pool this summer, but the kids changed their mind and we are looking into expanding the rink and getting some boards maybe. It still amazes me that you can have your own rink in your own back yard. I used to drive my kids all over the place to find ice time, now we just lace ‘em up and walk out the backdoor and play all night. I would also like to thank your staff for answering all my crazy questions, you always had someone to answer a question or got right back to me. The biggest improvement I seen in my kids was their stick handling. The smaller rink and playing 2on2 or 3on 3 was great for their stick handling skills. We go to practice and they touch the puck for a couple minutes a practice, we play at home and they got the puck on their sticks for hours. 

"Our rink has become a hub of activity for the whole neighborhood from December through mid-March.  For my children and their friends, nothing matches the fun of outdoor hockey; especially when the lights come on to prolong the action.  When our night games finally wrap-up, we literally have to peel the kids off the ice and send 'em home ... exhausted but deliriously happy."

M.F., Livingston, NJ

“As the owner of my own Custom Ice Rink I can't wait for winter.  It gets the whole family out for hours of enjoyment.  And, of course the kids never want to come in.  Custom Ice stands behind their product and takes a genuine interest in seeing to it that you have a great experience with your product.”

Mark & Thu-Lan, Toronto, ON

“Dear Custom Ice, 
We decided to install an ice rink in our back yard to provide winter fun and exercise for our family and friends. Custom Ice was highly recommended by a neighbor who had used your services in the past. This was a very significant investment for us but after meeting with Brendan Lenko, we really felt that this was an organization that we could trust.
The installation was completed smoothly and as scheduled in December 2005. The installers were extremely competent and were able to resolve the problems due to the confined space in which the rink was being installed.
During our first season, the compressor and piping system performed perfectly. Your staff encouraged us to call if I had any doubts or required advice on anything related to the ice rink, whether it was making ice or coping with those warm spells that we had. I did call on several occasions and my calls were always answered promptly and my questions resolved. I really got the feeling that your company is driven by individuals who enjoy what they do and truly want to bring ice skating to the back yards of all Canadians.
Our young children are now learning to skate with their friends on high quality ice and in an environment that is safe, uncrowded and available 24 hours a day. In a year or so, when the children start playing hockey, we will ask Custom Ice to install boards around the rink, and nets behind the goals. In 5 years, we may even ask them to sponsor our hockey team!

Rather than purchase the sports car of my dreams, I invested in one of your rinks, which for the last four years has made winter in the city, fly by. I cannot tell you the number of times I have smiled after arriving home after work to hear my kids in the final moments of a shoot out, which has to be completed by dinner. Custom Ice has been instrumental in engineering not only a terrific product, but those smiles. Whenever I have a question, it is answered; if a problem does arise, you very kindly fix my mistakes.

I wish you all the very best and on behalf of my family, I’m thrilled you chose to open
Custom Ice.