Rinks in Western Massachusetts

[jawbreakerarms]

Hey,

I'm brand new on the board and this is my first post. I have been playing since I was six years old and have ONLY played roller hockey. I am just curious to see if there are any rinks in the Western Mass. area. I'm from Long Island (which has an abundance of inline/roller rinks) but I attend UMass Amherst. I cannot seem to find any within a feasible radius. I was driving to Boston, however, and stumbled upon an outdoor rink in Orange, Massachusetts. This is thirty minutes away and the sign outside of the rink had "Gelinas Sports" on it. Yet, I cannot seem to find any information what-so-ever on it, or any other rink in the area.

Can anyone help me?!

Thanks!

[Mlrhnorthfan]

There was a rink in Enfield CT, right outside Springfield. It has closed but is re-opening in East Longmeadow Mass. Its a straight shot down from Umass on 91.

If your willing drive further, you can head down 91 into hartford CT and the Zrink.

Its about a half hour south of Springfield.

[calihockey]

You can also check out Holbrook. It is more south shore (sorry, only been here 8 months myself), but should be about the same drive from campus as it would be to Z-rink I believe. The website is holbrooksportscenter.com. Ruppy frequents the message boards and is one of the guys who runs the place.

[SWAMPDONKEYS29]

Holbrook might be a bit too far for you to play house league, but we have tournaments and other stuff that might be worth the trip. Either way, we would love to have you play at the rink if you are ever able to.

[growl89]

There is a very good chance that I will be relocating to Framingham at the end of the summer. What rinks ... ice/roller are in that area? I have no clue about Mass other then the springfield area.

[jawbreakerarms]

Thanks so much guys. If I stayed home in New York, I was more than likely going to play for either Suffolk CC, Stonybrook, or Dowling (who is starting a team this upcoming season, I believe.) I was considering trying out for the Suffolk Sharks or the LI 495ers as well. I am pretty much lost without playing roller, so I have been working out a lot haha. I hope I don't lose my hands =/. I was hoping to get a team going at UMass, seeing that there are plenty of good hockey players at this school, but there isn't a rink nearby and that is a major problem with starting a club.

[SWAMPDONKEYS29]

There is a very good chance that I will be relocating to Framingham at the end of the summer. What rinks ... ice/roller are in that area? I have no clue about Mass other then the springfield area.

You could probably throw a dart and hit 15 ice rinks Bill. As far as roller, it's Holbrook and the new one that Zuba mentioned near Springfield. There may be one in Uxbridge too, but I don't know much about that rink.

[GoRangrHky]

Yeah, after moving up here, I just pretty much gave up trying to play roller. I ended up playing ice about 6 times a week (often twice in a day). There's rinks EVERYWHERE. It's amazing.

Anyway, you can try http://www.ameliapark.org/dekandroller_NEW.html
That's not exactly next door, but looks pretty quality.

http://www.fmcarenas.com/public/locations/holyoke.htm That's a little closer, and I would think you could use it before the ice goes in. Knowing how the DCR rinks are going this year with budgets and stuff, that might be a little later next year. In all honesty, most of the indoor rinks close for the year during the spring-fall, and sit empty, so maybe you could work out something with them to get in. http://www.mass.gov/dcr/recreate/skating.htm Worth a shot. And if you're really lucky, you might be able to get into the practice rink at the Mullins Center early on in the year, before they put the ice down for the year. That could get you through the first month or so of school, and would save you a ton.

[mulissha46]

there is a nice roller rink in warwick RI which isnt to far

[jawbreakerarms]

Awesome. With me driving, I could get to Westfield in like 30-35 minutes... but it seems like they don't have leagues. I'm going to call tomorrow. However, it could be a possible destination to set up a team here at UMass.... Who wants to coach?!

[GSJaguars11]

However, it could be a possible destination to set up a team here at UMass.... Who wants to coach?!

goodluck we started the idea about this time last year and played this season

[jawbreakerarms]

Hey sick news for those of you who are interested... The UMass Minutemen Roller Hockey Club is officially recognized as legit student organization and we have been in contact with the ECRHA on a constant basis. If all goes well, as it has so far, we should be playing Division III come Fall 09. However, we have to be a club for a year to receive school funding, so a rink in Western Mass isn't impossible, but can only be feasible next year. Thanks for everyone that replied and helped.