The Pontiac Senior Comets will play their home opener this Sunday in Shawville due to an issue with the refrigeration system at the team’s home arena in Fort Coulonge.
The committee in charge of the Century 21 Élite Centre des Draveurs announced last week the arena opening would be delayed by about three weeks due to a malfunction resulting in a leak of brine fluid, the salty solution that gets pumped underneath the ice surface to keep it solid under the weight of the skaters.
When the arena’s contractors started the brine pump to get the ice ready for this year, they discovered a leak in the tubing system that circulates the fluid.
Stéphane Béland, president of the arena committee, said they considered patching up the holes in the tubing, but ultimately decided to replace the whole system.
“Because of the age of the arena, there was no way we could just patch it. We needed to change it and have a new one.”
He said they have to replace over 400 pipes that run under the concrete on which the ice sits as well as the hoses that spray the brine. The new equipment will cost $78,000.
The committee estimates they will be able to start the ice-making process on Nov. 8, and if all goes well, reopen the rink a week later.
Temporary home ice in Shawville
Earlier this week, it seemed as if the Comets would have to delay their home opener until the ice surface could be created at the Centre des Draveurs arena, but team captain Darcy Findlay, also a teacher at Pontiac High School, was able to secure some ice time for the team at the Shawville arena until the Fort Coulonge ice is ready.
He said trying to find ice time for the team was a huge job to take on, especially with less than a week to go until the team’s home opener, which is now scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at the Shawville arena.
Leading up to the game, Findlay has been in touch with local sponsors as well as the Shawville District Minor Hockey Association to see how they want to get involved.
Findlay said the temporary move to Shawville is a good opportunity to get more businesses involved with the team, some of whom are sponsoring powerplays, entire periods of games, or fan games that will run during intermissions.
“The team is called the Pontiac Comets,” he said. “Let’s get the Shawville community involved.”
Team co-owner Danick Boisvert, who also plays goalie for the team, said they are hoping to turn this rocky start to the season into something positive — better exposure for the team.
“We’ve had a really good outcome in Coulonge, lots of people come out to the games, but people from 45 minutes away we haven’t seen them much,” he said. “Now, we’re playing in another rink in the Pontiac, and I think we’re going to bring the community more together.”
He said they are going to take this opportunity to involve both minor hockey in Fort Coulonge and Shawville, and they plan on bringing players from both associations onto the ice with the senior players for warmups and even introduce them to the crowd.
Boisvert said the team is excited to bring Comets hockey to Shawville for the near future.
“I think we’re going to get lots of people in the rink, and [ . . . ] we’re gonna get some new fans.”
After this Sunday’s home opener at the Shawville arena, the Pontiac Senior Comets will play three more home games in the coming weeks.
