May 4, 2017 3 min read

Middle-schooler Sydney Banasick held up the sign “WE WON!” and 700 people roared. Their support of Rostraver Ice Garden as “America’s most passionate hockey community,” and their eager anticipation, were rewarded.

The arena off Route 51 was one of two finalists among 1,700 nominees for the 2017 Kraft Hockeyville USA crown. The winner – determined by online, text and Twitter voting – was going to be announced Saturday afternoon during a watch party at the local rink.

A few minutes after 4, Sydney’s sign provided the verdict: Rostraver had prevailed against Bloomington (Minn.) Ice Garden.

This was a bountiful day for the 52-year-old facility and its 70-year-old owner, Jim Murphy. Not only did the ice garden reap a first prize of $150,000, to be used for renovations, it earned the right to host a National Hockey League exhibition game Sept. 24 between the Penguins and St. Louis Blues. The Minnesota rink got a runner-up prize of $75,000.

For the Rostraver rink, this was a richly deserved triumph over tragedy. The ice garden, the 1970s practice facility for the NHL Penguins, was dealt a formidable blow in February 2010 when snow from a heavy storm caused the roof to collapse. A youth hockey tournament was halted minutes earlier when dozens of players, coaches and fans – responding to the sound of pillars cracking – bolted from the building. No one was injured, but a popular Mon Valley recreation venue suddenly was out of commission.

Through hard work and a lot of Murphy money, the garden was closed for only eight months. It is a busy location again, especially during the hockey season. Rostraver is the home ice and practice facility for two men’s teams and one women’s team from California University of Pennsylvania; area high school squads; and the Mon Valley Thunder youth program.

Chris Kostick is enamored of the place. He is the Cal U. senior who nominated the ice garden for the Hockeyville award. As equipment manager for his school’s three teams, he spends five or six nights a week in season at the rink. It was like endorsing his home for a $150,000 upgrade. A number of Vulcans players and supporters accompanied him Saturday.

The decision was revealed during the first intermission of the Ottawa-New York Rangers NHL playoff game, which was being televised by NBC Sports and shown on a large screen in the ice garden. Afterward, a euphoric Murphy and Kostick were interviewed live by an NBC crew.

“This money is going to help a lot,” a nervously hopeful Murphy told the Observer-Reporter’s Rick Shrum a half-hour before the verdict was made public. Rostraver Ice Garden is a reliable old rink, but it could benefit from a nip and tuck. Murphy, the owner since 1992, plans to replace a 125-ton compressor, current lighting with LED lamps and the manifold eight-inch pipes for making ice. He also wants to upgrade flooring in the lobby.

The Kraft Hockeyville USA award is just three years old, and two Western Pennsylvania rinks have won. Johnstown’s venerable War Memorial Arena, built in 1950, was selected 2015. That is likely a testament to the widespread appeal of hockey in this half of the state.

It is certainly a testament to what the Rostraver rink has meant to people since 1965.