Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1029542
USICERINKS.COM SEPTEMBER.OCTOBER.2018 / 15 LOCALS HAVE THEIR OWN STORIES about how Canton Metropolis Skating Rink's roof collapsed back in 2015. Some claim nobody was around when the roof buckled under heavy February snow. Others say a team was practicing when they heard a large crack, and about an hour or two after they evacuated, the roof fell. "We started to get off the ice and started screaming for all the kids, and the second snap came," Norwood Nuggets coach Chris Sharkey told CBS. "Then just it turned into complete 'get off the ice as quick as possible and get these kids out of the structure.'" According to the Boston Globe, nearly 30 Peewee and Squirt players, and coaches, exited just minutes before the government-run arena caved in. No one got hurt. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation closed several other rinks that year in fear of the same thing. There weren't immediate plans to rebuild. The teams who skated at Canton Metropolis Skating Rink had to find alternative home ice, and they found it nearby. "Canton Metropolis was the arena in the area that handled a lot of the traffic," say Dennis Carboni, chief engineer and head ice manager at Canton Ice House. "So, everything moved to our arena." Opened on Labor Day 2016, the Ice House's two sheets now host as many as 100 practices and 30 games in a week. Six area high schools call the arena home. Canton High's boys' and girls' teams even have their own designated locker rooms. Demand is growing, and staff try their best to squeeze everyone in. Nearby groups in Canton, Norwood and Westwood are always looking for more ice time with their learn-to-skate programs. Public skating in September through March attracts hundreds of skaters. "It's pretty intense dealing with the building after," Carboni says. "The limited staff to clean up, you know, kids everywhere, pizza all over the place. Everybody has fun doing that." A One-Man Show Carboni is grateful to focus on the ice. He's generally the only one to do rink OPENED ON LABOR DAY 2016, THE ICE HOUSE'S TWO SHEETS NOW HOST AS MANY AS 100 PRACTICES AND 30 GAMES IN A WEEK.