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IN A SMALL TOWN in southwestern Michigan, interest in hockey has been slowly growing. St. Joseph's outdoor rink opened about 15 years ago. But with Midwestern weather being as it is, teams could only skate locally from late November to March. Beyond that, they'd have to trek about an hour to nearby towns for practice. Around the same time, parents cobbled together a youth hockey asso- ciation. At first, the kids played against each other, and then as they got older, they started to travel. When the first wave reached high school, the LSJ Warriors were born. That team still plays in the South Bend high school league in southern Indiana. AJ Glowacki knew that ice sports had a lot of unrealized potential in the area. Hockey was just starting to catch hold, while figure skating never had an official program. All they needed to flourish, he thought, was a full-time ice rink. Teaming with volunteers and his family, Glowacki opened the Garden Ice Arena in 2016. He'd grown up playing with his seven siblings in Chicago and always dreamed of coaching hockey and starting a business at the same time. To Glowacki, the game always seemed to sell itself. 22 / MAY.JUNE.2019 USICERINKS.COM PHOTOS: THE GARDEN ICE ARENA The Garden Ice Arena provides year- round ice and a place for hockey to grow Featured Rink Garden Ice Arena | | St. Joseph, Mich. Hockey in Bloom by EMILY ZAK