North Dakota Preps

Just wondering who the players think has the best ice to play on in the state, which place has the best facilities, and the best concessions.

I would have to say the nicest ice would have to be either a Grand Forks arena or the burdick in Devils Lake.

Bismark or Devils Lake. I surley have not found it here in Fargo.

ralph burdick isnt that good of an arena i like VFW in bis

Ice- Bismarck or Purpur

Facility- The Ralph or VFW

Concessions- Jamestown (knoephla soup and nachos)

idk about devils lakes ice, for me it has been slow, but i dont mind it, bismarck has nice ice too

The best ice in the state is the VFW in Bismarck. They know ice! Some of the worst is at the Ralph.

Personally I liked the cold rinks in the state. Made the ice alot faster, harder, and not so tiresome on the legs. Bottineau's concession have some really good food too. (Wisconsin Cheese Soup)

jkaiz wrote:idk about devils lakes ice, for me it has been slow, but i dont mind it, bismarck has nice ice too

I'd say maybe botno. The ice is always fast and hard. with no bad corners or an excess in standing water

except it not cool to be a spectator....way too cold

hockeymanager07 wrote:I would have to say the nicest ice would have to be either a Grand Forks arena or the burdick in Devils Lake.

the burdick basically has black ice, it's definitely not the nicest, probably the teamsters in Fargo has the best, very fast ice

jo wrote:

jkaiz wrote:idk about devils lakes ice, for me it has been slow, but i dont mind it, bismarck has nice ice too

I'd say maybe botno. The ice is always fast and hard. with no bad corners or an excess in standing water

What are you talking about the boards are horrible have crazy bounces you hit them right behind the net the puck will bounce right back to you. Plus the glass behind one of the nets is WOOD

Overall for a HS hockey game, I would take Jamestown's rink.  Usually nice ice with good overall lighting, seating, concessions etc.  Just a nice place to watch or play in a hockey game.

The All Seasons for sure haha (Minot)

Never a bad bounce, ice is hard and fast, lighting is great, saftey net around the rink to protect all the little kids that aren't paying attention to the game, great food for a great price...I dunno that is the makings of a great rink ha.

Grafton or Purpur

Timmay07 wrote:Grafton

No.

nd0606 wrote:Overall for a HS hockey game, I would take Jamestown's rink.  Usually nice ice with good overall lighting, seating, concessions etc.  Just a nice place to watch or play in a hockey game.

ok im fine with jamestown minus the fact there is a foot from the boards to the glass behind the nets gets caught up there somtimes, and not alot of room behind the net to work with

i'm surprised nobody metioned the lumberdome/barn up in bottineau.  the rink is alittle smaller, but the ice is super fast.  i've watched a few games there, college or high school and the games are fast pace.  lots of hitting with the smaller sheet of ice.

you can never over dress for a game in bottineau, most rinks you over heat.  it's a nice place to play, lots of history in that rink.  i read an article that bottineau built the first indoor arena in the state.  they also had a mens team that use to play the souix  and the wheat kings a long time ago. 

  good food too!

The Hockey Wizzard wrote:i'm surprised nobody metioned the lumberdome/barn up in bottineau.  the rink is alittle smaller, but the ice is super fast.  i've watched a few games there, college or high school and the games are fast pace.  lots of hitting with the smaller sheet of ice.

you can never over dress for a game in bottineau, most rinks you over heat.  it's a nice place to play, lots of history in that rink.  i read an article that bottineau built the first indoor arena in the state.  they also had a mens team that use to play the souix  and the wheat kings a long time ago. 

  good food too!

God how could i forget the food, cheap as heck to worth the trip up there.

Timmay07 wrote:Grafton or Purpur

Grafton's end zone behind the red line not cool, and the boards are bad. Purpur's ice not cool and has chunks coming out of it all the time.

Ditka14 wrote:

The Hockey Wizzard wrote:i'm surprised nobody metioned the lumberdome/barn up in bottineau.  the rink is alittle smaller, but the ice is super fast.  i've watched a few games there, college or high school and the games are fast pace.  lots of hitting with the smaller sheet of ice.

you can never over dress for a game in bottineau, most rinks you over heat.  it's a nice place to play, lots of history in that rink.  i read an article that bottineau built the first indoor arena in the state.  they also had a mens team that use to play the souix  and the wheat kings a long time ago. 

  good food too!

God how could i forget the food, cheap as heck to worth the trip up there.

besides good ice, bottineau provides a good atmosphere for hockey inside the barn.

mhsund wrote:

Timmay07 wrote:Grafton or Purpur

Grafton's end zone behind the red line not cool, and the boards are bad. Purpur's ice not cool and has chunks coming out of it all the time.

I deeply hate Grafton's rink, the boards are the worst in the state, pucks flying out into the slot off of rings all the time, and bad bounces all over. The ice itself gets pretty bad behind the goal lines. Very good concessions though.