Work on Cantiague Park's ice rink renovation is moving along according to schedule. The first piece of the old boards and glass was removed last Saturday, July 3rd, and as of Thursday, July 8th, all that remains is a concrete slab where the old rink once stood. With the new boards set for delivery next Wednesday, July 14th, the project is progressing as planned. 

On Tuesday, the process of removing the old boards began. The crew worked on taking down the six-plus-foot sections of the old boards and by late Wednesday, completed their demolition. Included in the removal was the old bench area. When the old home and visitor bench area, along with the penalty box area, were taken down, Nassau County Hockey Director Mark LaMarr replenished his collection of lost pucks, as nearly 300 pucks were found beneath the old benches. Three full buckets of pucks, along with hundreds of plastic bottle caps, mouthpieces and various other junk were discovered under the 30-plus year-old bench area.

Left behind in all the mess is the main concrete slab that serves as the base ice surface. Still slightly wet, the concrete surface was scraped with the zamboni acting as a vacuum, removing the remnants of white paint and taped-on markers that serve as guides for creating the rink's red line, blue lines and faceoff circles. Cleaning the base slab of concrete is the final step prior to next Wednesday's delivery of the new boards and seamless glass. 

Check back here and bookmark www.nassaucountyhockey.com for updates on the construction progress, and check your mailboxes for registration forms and information on the 2010-2011 NCHL Season.

An old mouthpiece, perhaps dating back to the 1980s, was just one of the relics unearthed as the old bench area was removed

The aftermath of the old board removal

The old boards head off to their new final resting place

 

 

 

 

 

The zamboni works on removing the wet white paint residue from the base concrete slab

 

The concrete that once held the old Cantiague Park boards 

 

All that remains of the old Cantiague Ice Rink

 

A look at the side of the rink along the bleachers

 

The zamboni cleanup continues in preparation of next week's arrival of the new boards

 

The area that once served as the neutral zone evaporates in the summer heat

The zamboni removes the old tape that served as guides for painting the faceoff circles

 

 Wet white paint puddles are all that remain of the old ice rink