The Cary Ice House is off I-40 exit 293 1410 Buck Jones Road Raleigh, NC 27606 919-460-2756

HockeyCat Rink Information

Amenities: The Cary Ice House has a snack bar, good pro-shop and a pretty good game room for the kids. The overall feel of the facility is dark and while some effort has been made to improve it, obvious signs of construction, including wood on the floor and missing floor padding make walking on skates very hard. The parking lot has hidden speed bumps, so use caution driving in - a little yellow paint is in order.

Locker Rooms: The Cary Ice House locker rooms are crowded and some are difficult to access. The referees locker room is fairly good and separated from the players.

Seating: Cary Ice House seating is virtually non-existent. Standing room is at floor level. The snack bar has reasonably good site lines, but if you want to see the game, you better stand outside. There are some end zone seats, but sitelines are limited.

Ice: The Cary Ice House rink has some problems. The paint job is cracking and the lines are disappearing. This is especially disconcerting since one of the disappearing lines is the goal line. The rink also has exposed metal along the glass where the benches end - padding should be applied. The ceiling is low and the lights are exposed. I have seen the flourescent tubes explode after being hit by pucks twice. I am not sure how much it would cost to fix that, but it seems like it should be fixed. During one public skate it looked like it had snowed. The ice and rink condition should be addressed.

Cleanliness: The bathrooms seemed clean and the staff does their best with what they have to work with. The skate changing areas are glassed off and kept very clean. It is a very dark facility.

Pro Shop: The Pro Shop has all of the things you would expect, including some composite sticks and a reasonable selection of safety equipment. If you forget something, they are likely to have it there. I am very impressed by the Inside Edge Pro Shops. The quality of the merchandise staff is consistent throughout.

Overall: The Cary Ice House is showing its age. Most of the facility is adequate to good, but the rink condition is not. At the very least, they need to move the construction items - wood, damaged equipment and other debris out of the bench areas and fix the floor. The surprise speed bumps are annoying. The parking lot is too small and getting to early afternoon games can be challenging. If ice conditions were improved and construction debris removed, the rink would improve to average.

Directions: I-40 to exit 293A (64/1 South). Stay in the right hand lane after the exit and take the Buck Jones Rd. exit. Take a sharp right hand turn onto Buck Jones Rd.. Get into the left lane. The rink will be about 1/4 mile on your left behind the Shiny Diner. There is a turning lane, just be careful, for some reason people think that is a through lane.

Leagues: Men's - A, B, B/C and C. Youth Hockey: RYHA.

Website: www.icehouserinks.com

HockeyCat Rating: 2.0 paws (out of 5)

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