A Point Of Pride In Woodbury

“Pride” was the word of the day Saturday as local hockey fans, city officials, players and parents showed up for a ribbon cutting for the at the .

The new locker rooms—which serve the boys and girls hockey teams and the girls hockey team—were a community effort.

The city of Woodbury and District 833 provided the bulk of the $350,000 tab for the addition, and local hockey clubs kicked in $45,000. Parents also helped find donations for materials and construction work at the new hockey digs.

“This has always been a tremendous facility,” said Dewey Wahlin, president of the Woodbury Blue Line Club. “This just puts a little bit of icing on the cake.”

“It’s awesome,” said Cara Kauffer, a 15-year-old East Ridge freshman.

The teams now “feel like they have a special home,” said Wahlin, addressing the crowd of more than 50 people Saturday before Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens cut the ribbon and a cheer went up.

The new locker rooms also have video systems, which Ryan Winter, 17, a junior captain on the Woodbury squad, said he appreciated. He said it was fun heading out of the new locker rooms for their past two home games.

“When we come out we have a swagger to us,” Winter said. “It’s kind of like we’re in the pros.”

Plus: "They're a lot better than the old ones,” he said, drawing a laugh from teammates in the spacious new locker room, their gear cleanly stowed away and jerseys hanging behind them.

Before the new locker rooms were built, the teams “didn’t really have an area to call their own,” Wahlin said. The new facilities help establish a sense of pride for the programs at Woodbury and East Ridge, he said. "This is a big piece of that."

“They absolutely love it,” Wahlin said of the players’ reaction. “This was really special to them.”

Troy Detmar, who owns Accurate Communications, donated the video equipment. "It's unbelievable," he said of the locker rooms. He has a son, Chris, who plays bantam hockey and might someday enjoy the new facilities himself.

"You never know," Detmar said.

For Tom Erickson, it’s more than just the comfort and look that makes the new locker rooms so nice.

“The old ones were moldy and we had to fumigate them twice a year,” he said. “This is a much more healthy environment, really. … They can shower. And you know how smelly hockey lockers can get.”

Another $15,000 has yet to be raised.

There are locker sponsorships available for $500, and people can give $100 and be recognized on a “puck board,” Wahlin said. Coupon cards for local businesses are also available for $20.

For more information, or to donate, call Erickson at 651-470-6647.

Editor's note: If you have photos from the event, add them to this story or email them to kris.janisch@patch.com.