Fire at St. F.X. Keating Centre Ice Plant Forces Removal of Rinks, Disrupts Hockey Schedules
A Monday morning fire in the ice plant at St. Francis Xavier University's Keating Centre damaged an electrical box, forcing the removal of both arena ice surfaces and cutting Antigonish's ice capacity by two-thirds.
A fire broke out Monday morning in the ice plant at St. Francis Xavier University’s Keating Centre in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, damaging an electrical box that powers the systems used to make and maintain ice. The blaze was contained to the ice plant room, and the building suffered no other damage.
As a result of the incident, the ice surfaces in both the main and auxiliary arenas at the Keating Centre will need to be removed until further notice. Bob Hale, associate vice-president of administration at St. F.X., confirmed the scope of the shutdown. The loss of these two rinks reduces the community’s overall ice capacity by two-thirds.
The sudden reduction has placed significant pressure on local hockey programming. Garrett Juurlink, manager of the Antigonish Arena, is now working to accommodate displaced users at his facility. Three men’s varsity hockey games have been rescheduled to the Antigonish Arena due to the shutdown, including the home opener against the University of New Brunswick Reds, which is set for Oct. 9 at the Antigonish Arena. According to reports, X-Women hockey games have not been rescheduled.
Minor hockey organizations are also scrambling to adjust. Robert Kavanaugh, president of the Antigonish Minor Hockey Association (AMHA), noted the disruption to local programming. The AMHA and the Quad County Association are currently working together to find additional ice time in neighbouring communities to offset the shortfall.