Icebreakers Cafe

Due to the icy road conditions in the morning, the cafe will be opening at 9AM on Saturday 1/20

When we opened The Gardens Ice House in 1996 we committed to hanging the flags of the 8 teams that competed in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey in all our rinks (we only had Patrick and Resor back then). At the time the World Cup of Hockey was the largest and best gathering of hockey players in the world. NHL players didn't participate in the Olympics until 1998 so this tournament represented the best of the best. The building was always designed to honor the ethos of the three Olympic values excellence, friendship and respect. Games were played across Europe, Canada and the US from late August to mid September. The first 3 flags, USA, Canada and Sweden finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the tournament. It was a huge win for the US team as they defeated Canada twice, once during round robin play and again in the finals. The final game took place on 9/14/96. Many of the Washington Caps Alumni and the 1980 USA Olympic Gold medal team watched the game together at The Gardens Ice House after playing in the ceremonial game to open the building. It really was a very special tournament and moment in time for this facility.
The remaining 5 flags represent the other 5 teams that participated. To the facility those flags stand for the unity and bond that hockey can produce. They don't represent the countries today, but rather the players that fought hard during that tournament back in 1996. The Gardens Ice House is an anti-racist facility that supports all peoples access to the sport we love. Our prayers are with the Ukrainian people as they suffer this unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. We pray for a quick and peaceful resolution