Ducky Dome Memories April 28, 2016
Hi my name is John Holden and I’ve been a resident of St. Albert since April 26, 1966 (50 years)
At the age of 7 (1971) I was playing shaver hockey on the outdoor rinks in St. Albert. That was the year that they opened the Perron Street Arena (Ducky Dome) and our team got to play indoors about once a month.
My earliest memories of the Ducky Dome go back to the ‘Comets’ Senior men’s hockey team. Good old time hockey with the likes of, Ritchie Perreault and Al Laplante. One of the big highlights that I recall was when the Comets hosted the Polish national team for an exhibition game.
Back then there was no Zamboni to flood the ice, as it was natural ice. This meant that at the end of each period about 5 or 6 able bodied volunteers (young and old) would grab scrapers to move the snow off the ice. Once the snow was picked up, 2 of the City’s finest , Ernie Caouette and Charlie Brodeur would pull barrels of hot water around the ice surface (human Zambonis!).
My father, the late Tony Holden, was a timekeeper for the Comets. He also got on the microphone to announce goals, assists and penalties. He really enjoyed the job and would later go on to timekeep the Jr ‘A’ Saints and Jr ‘B’ Merchants.
Dad (Tony) was a pretty heavy smoker back in the day and was known to have the odd ‘drag’ while he was timekeeping. We used to joke that while he was taking a puff he would get on the mike and announce,” There is to be no (cough-cough) smoking in the arena!”
Another fabled story of Dad’s timekeeping days was when he was doing a game (Jr ‘B’) that my brother and I were playing in when all of a sudden I scored a goal that my brother assisted on. Here is how dad announced the it; “St. Albert goal scored by #18 John Holden , assisted by #22 Dave Holden and my name is Tony Holden!”
As a young man of 13, I took up refereeing hockey and I can recall many 6 am games at the Dome where it felt colder in the arena than outside! Those were character building years getting dressed in the mechanical room , as there was no actual ref’s dressing room.
The Ducky Dome was a classic old barn and thousands of young minor hockey players got their careers started there. My 3 brothers all played there and it wasn’t just used for hockey, as my sister was a member of the St. Albert Figure Skating Club.
The dome was known for it’s huge rafters and ample seating but not everyone sat in the stands to watch. My mom would go stand in the concession area, behind the glass along with Mr.Roberge (Maurice), who was an avid fan and fixture there. I’m sure anyone who recalls going to the concession would remember Maurice.
My final memory of the Ducky Dome came years later when I participated in the annual St.Albert 10 mile road race in the spring of 1992. It was the official finish line where the runners could go in, following the race. That same year the arena was demolished and shipped to Mexico for a Habitat For Humanity project. It was sad to see it go but 2 other arenas had been built in Campbell park to compensate for the loss.
I’m sure many long time residents of St. Albert also have many fond memories of the Perron Street Arena.