Bathgate wrote:Nobody has mentioned the Alpine Ice Chalet just off the Parkway East in Swissvale, where the Pens practiced in the 1960's and 1970's. It was converted to a tennis center, probably before Mario arrived. Also not mentioned is the Sewickley Ice Rink, located along the river almost at the base of the Sewickley Bridge. Not sure when it closed, but it may have survived into the Lemieux era.
Anybody ever hear of the Roxarena? It was an outdoor rink along Chartiers Creek in McKees Rox. Not sure if it had artificial ice. It existed from the late '30's through the early '50's, I think. The old Hornets sometimes practiced there when Duquesne Gardens ice was not available. Tim Horton likely skated there a few times. It did not have regular hockey boards. If you visit the McKees Rocks Post Office or the McKees Rocks Eat'n Park, you can see a photo of this rink on the wall. Sometimes the Hornets of the 1950's traveled all the way to Johnstown for indoor practice, as there were no indoor rinks in the Pittsburgh area other than Duquesne Gardens.
If you want to go way back to the 1910's, they installed an ice rink in the old Exposition building, located in what is now Point State Park along the Allegheny River. Hobey Baker played his last game of hockey there.
I did a little Internet research and found out that the rink in Sewickley was called the Sewickley Ice Skating Arena and existed from the late '60's through the '70's. It was converted to an indoor soccer facility called SporTrak in 1982 and is still used for that purpose.
