Locals join the Douglas Ice Cats

Laura London
Posted 3/28/18

Five Platte County School District students competed in this year’s Douglas Youth Hockey Association season.

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Locals join the Douglas Ice Cats

Posted

DOUGLAS — Five Platte County School District students competed in this year’s Douglas Youth Hockey Association season.

Dalten Gefroh, age 6, and Tra Bauder, 6, played on the Mini Mites team, according to Jackie Bauder, Tra’s mother. Colby Gefroh, age 8, played on the Mites team. The Gefrohs are the sons of Shane Gefroh and Carla Weiser.

Bauder explained Mini Mites are ages 3-6 and Mites are ages 7-8.

“They play hockey games, but they don’t keep score,” Bauder said about the Mites and Mini Mites. “They’re learning the fundamentals of the game.”

Aundy Luckenbihl, Douglas Youth Hockey Association president and coach, said two Wheatland High School students also played this year: Gage Brown and Forest Cole.

Luckenbihl said the Douglas Ice Cats won two state championships this year: the Pee Wee A division, which is 11- to 12-year-olds, and the Bantam B division, comprising 13- and 14-year-olds.

Luckenbihl said they’ve had hockey for about 25 years in Douglas. She said Douglas Youth Hockey Association got its 501(c)3 nonprofit status in 1996, but it was around a few years before that.

Luckenbihl said the association will hold a benefit and auction April 14 during its end of year banquet at the fairgrounds cafeteria in Douglas. She said they are raising money to get the Ice Cats their own building.

“We have our own rink already,” Luckenbihl said. “We have the building at the fairgrounds, but we have to set up the rink and tear it down every year.”

Luckenbihl explained the rink, called a matting system, has tubes through which glycol circulates, and that is what chills the ice. She said there are about 13 miles of glycol tubes in the floor. The rink also has pumps to pump the glycol and a refrigeration unit. She said the refrigeration unit cost $62,000 and the glycol tubes cost $53,000.

“We want our own building. The tubes we roll up every year and stick in a semi trailer, and they are not made to do that,” Luckenbihl said.

Luckenbihl said another reason the Ice Cats want their own building is to have more time on the ice. She explained they can’t get into the fairgrounds building until October, which is when most other teams in the state start practice. It takes six weeks to get the ice rink all frozen, so the Ice Cats don’t get to start practice until November. Then it takes four to six weeks to take the rink down. She said if they had their own building, they could start on the ice sooner and practice longer each year.

Luckenbihl said the Ice Cats have posted their capital campaign on their website, douglasicecats.org, and their Facebook page, Douglas Hockey.