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Ferrell's used to. He was an esteemed soc- cer coach at several colleges in the state, including Trine, before he retired and started running the rink. It's been both fun and challenging. The game of soccer may have a lot of similari- ties to hockey, but Ferrell doesn't skate much himself. He's learned a lot from colleagues with backgrounds in the indus- try. He also gets a kick out of watching his two grandchildren, ages 7 and 9, learn to play. If it weren't for the university, Ferrell says, building a new facility in a place that never had one would be much harder. "For us, it makes it easier that we have about 130 college students that have all been skating, playing most of their lives," he says. "If someone else is starting from scratch, a little town like us that has never had an ice rink, they're probably going to have to bring some people in from the neighboring community to help teach and everything. I'm sure we couldn't afford to hire that many people to do all that what we've got." The Thunder Ice Arena drew from homegrown talent, as well. Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock skated six seasons with the Fort Wayne Komets, a nearby AA minor hockey team. He worked at Canlan Ice Arena, a three-sheet arena where many Angola locals used to skate. Schrock's now the director of youth pro- grams. Ferrell says Schrock's connections have served the arena well. Nearby places also inspired the Thunder Arena. Builders tried to model the rink after one at Adrian College, about an hour and a half drive away. By then, the Arrington Ice Arena had been running for several years, and the school was in the same conference as Trine University in all sports. Setting Up for Success As far as building features, the Thunder Ice Arena gets the job done with few bells and whistles. However, it did recently host the eight-team Silver Stick International Youth Sled Hockey Tournament. The disability nonprofit Turnstone also holds practices there once a month. Ferrell says the university built the facility with sled hockey in mind, so it was able to convert the player boxes with synthetic ice on the bottom. Thunder Ice USICERINKS.COM MARCH.APRIL.2019 / 15 THE FACILITY IS ONE OF THE RELATIVELY FEW NATIONWIDE THAT OFFERS A SPECIAL SLED HOCKEY- EQUIPPED ARENA. IN FORT WAYNE, SLED PLAYERS HAVE TO SIT OUT ON THE ICE WHEN NOT PLAYING BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE SPECIAL BENCHES.