St. Francis Xavier University's Memorial Rink

St. Francis Xavier University's Memorial Rink opened in February 1922 and the official closing ceremony was held February 8, 2002. Up until 1947, the rink didn't even have an artificial ice system. People just left the doors open to keep it cold. Named for the university's war dead, Memorial Rink is the birthplace of Canada's oldest hockey league, the Antigonish Rural League. It was used by the university's X-Men and the Antigonish Bulldogs and even the Montreal Junior Canadiens in the 1950s. Until the Antigonish Arena was built in 1967, all the town's hockey games were played at the Memorial Rink. The rink with its brick exterior and wood interior, is mostly standing-room only, with bleachers at each end. Many people were hit with pucks and spectators were close to the action. A new science complex is planned to be built in the old rink's place in the spring of 2002 after it is torn down. Source: The Sunday Daily News, December 23, 2001 Story by: Chris Lambie