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CEDAR CITY — Sports fans now can watch ice hockey south of Provo.
An outdoor skating rink in Cedar City called The Glacier took a lot of persistence and planning to put on ice.
"It's absolutely amazing. I never could have guessed we could get to this point," said Kerry Fain, manager of The Glacier.
The latest edition to the Cedar City Aquatic Center, located at 2090 W. Royal Hunte Drive, is a rare sight in southern Utah. But high school hockey is heating up there.
"You can get out here and it can be as cold as it can get. You can leave the ice dripping sweat and wanting to take a cold shower," said Zack Fain, who plays right defense.
This high school group is independently known as the YETIs, or Youth and Enthusiasts Together for Ice. Team members have played nine games this year.
"We've won by a forfeit, by default. We tied one game, one to one. We've lost all of our other games," Zack Fain said.
It's not exactly a dominant record, but these teens are learning to take whatever hit life throws at them.
"You can do anything you set your mind to. A year ago, this wasn't even here, and now everyone comes here," said Burgess Milner, who plays right wing.
For a bunch of rag-tag country folk, it's amazing what we built.
–Kerry Fain, manager of The Glacier
The group started playing on a pond in nearby Enoch. Team members worked on fundamentals and toughness.
"It took a lot of hard work and long nights," they said.
When winter was over, they came up with innovative ways to raise cash.
"We did a lot of eBaying, and then after having a decent base of 150, 200 people that were interested, we approached our city government," explained Courtney Morgan, the team captain.
The group had already raised more than $120,000. Then the city awarded RAP tax funds for the rink, totaling more than $90,000.
Then volunteers again got to work. They prepped the surface and surroundings, and finally had a full-sized outdoor rink on the south side of town, complete with skate rentals.
The rink is also home to the only established high school hockey program in southern Utah.
"For a bunch of rag-tag country folk, it's amazing what we built," said Kerry Fain.
The Glacier is open weekdays for open skating and offers youth and adult hockey leagues
