Community ice rink in Saskatchewan goes viral for its unique features

Sometimes, just getting onto the ice can be as exciting as the game itself.

A U9 team from Regina, Saskatchewan had a special way of getting to the ice during its youth hockey tournament in Lang, Saskatchewan last weekend. With the dressing rooms on the second floor at Lang Community Ice Rink, players have to walk down a drawbridge staircase to get from the locker room to the ice.
Once everyone has made their way down the steps, the staircase is retracted and the puck is dropped.
The coach of the youth hockey team, Braden Konschuh, tweeted out a photo of the rink during the tournament, which has since gone viral.

He then tweeted a video of the kids going down the staircase and onto the ice before adding a photo of the makeshift Zamboni to the Twitter thread.

The rink also has no seating, but fans can stand along a catwalk above the ice to watch games.
The youth tournament was based in Milestone, Saskatchewan (only about nine miles from Lang) but five games were played in Lang during the weekend.
Lang Community Ice Rink was built in 1928, with its doors officially opening on Jan. 1, 1929, according to rink board president, Mike Saip. The rink also hosted curling competitions until the 1990s. Currently, there is a recreational hockey league that plays at the rink regularly.
"Throughout the years, [the rink] has always been a meeting place for all of us," Saip told NHL.com. "It's always been the center hub of the community."
According to the most recent Census number (from 2016), Lang has a population of 189 people.
"It's amazing that a town of 180 people can sustain that rink," Konschuh told NHL.com. "It's super cool and unique."
"We have a pretty unique situation," Saip said. "My grandparents skated here, and my parents skated here. I've had [the rink] since I was a kid and I hope it continues for future generations as well."