Last year's warm temperatures made it hard for the Ottawa Park Ice Rink to keep the outdoor ice rink in good shape.
"It was so warm here last year and there were a lot of bumps so not a lot of people came out and a lot of people were falling," said Chris Thompson a junior league hockey player.
This year is a different story. The winter warriors are loving suiting up and putting on their pads to play in the frigid weather and that's good news for the city-owned ice rink.
"This is perfect weather," said Joe Minnich the rink's manager. "My favorite weather is about twenty to twenty-five degrees and a little bit of sun."
Toledo is a hockey town and this rink is a West Toledo staple and playing outside is a big draw for athletes.
"People just love the sport of hockey," Thompson said. "They don't mind paying a few extra bucks just to play the sport."
The biggest challenge for Minnich is the weather. Temperatures in the teens are perfect for a great weekend of hockey, but mother nature is unpredictable and he hope the cold weather sticks around.
"It's my job to keep good ice and that's hopefully what the players come to play on," Minnich said. "So, I try to make the ice the best that it could be."
With temperatures in the 50's this week, keeping the ice ready for the blades to hit the rink is the only way the city can cash in.
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