There Really Is Ice Hockey in Central Oregon
Scott Wallace wasn’t born on ice skates, but pretty close. Scott’s parents are Canadian, and as most know, hockey is as important to Canadians as NFL football is here. Scott Wallace is Chair of the Bend Park and Recreation District Board, and we interviewed him recently about his involvement with ice hockey. Scott is coaching our new junior hockey program at the Sunriver Village Ice Rink.
Scott and his family moved to Bend in 1969. Many longtime Central Oregonians will remember the winters of the 60s and 70s were colder than present times, and Vince Genna, Wally Wallace (Scott’s father), and other volunteers flooded the old concrete slab at Juniper Park for ice skating and pickup hockey games. That’s where Scott and many others learned to skate. Some of you may remember in the early 1990’s when the slab was converted to a roller hockey rink and there was ice skating in that location for one season before the deteriorating slab was removed to make way for the expansion of the Juniper Swim and Fitness Center. In the early 70s the ice rink at the Inn of the Seventh Mountain opened and his father began youth hockey and adult broom hockey programs which he continued for over 35 years.
While Scott was pursuing his education and career elsewhere after his 1980 graduation from Bend High, his father continued to coach youngsters at the Seventh Mountain rink and subsequently at the Sunriver Village Ice Rink. By the time Scott and his family returned to Bend in 1997, both youth and adults had gotten into the fun. Thanks to a BPRD sponsored roller hockey rink at the old Juniper Park slab, Bend developed a very active youth and adult roller hockey program in the early to mid 1990s which led to the formation of the Bend Frontiers adult ice hockey club in the winters. The Frontiers group has evolved into the Bend Steelheaders Hockey Club and now includes 20-25 men who play on Monday nights from November through April at the Sunriver Village rink. Scott manages the team which typically plays 3 to 4 tournaments around the Pacific Northwest each year. Needless the say, without a full-size rink in Bend, all their games are away.
Ryan Smith, who manages the Sunriver Village Ice Rink, approached Scott and BPRD Enrichment Program Coordinator Sue Boettner about putting together a hockey program. The first session of Junior Hockey started in January and ran through February 7. The second session began in February and will continue through mid-March.
Scott says the first session included 10-12 participants, some of whom have skated before, while others were beginners. The first half of the 1.5 hour class is for skating drills and puck handling, and the second half is for scrimmage. Scott says there is a lot of “learn through doing”, and the kids are having loads of fun. Participants must have their own helmets, shin pads, gloves and elbow pads, but Scott says some donated equipment is available. Classes are on Sunday from 4:30 to 6:00pm for kids 6 to 14 years of age.
For anyone interested in playing or just watching ice hockey, the Bend Steelheaders practice from 7:30 – 9:00 Monday evenings at Sunriver. Broom hockey is on Wednesday evenings, same hours. Scott says there are two other loosely organized adult hockey groups that take to the ice on Thursday and Sunday evenings.