Advice: Ice rinks/Beer Leagues in LA area

[Fanned On It]

So my girlfriend and I are moving out to LA on August first (we're actually mid-drive right now lol) from NY and obviously, I'm going to need some place to play hockey at. At first it'll probably be just sticks and pucks sessions or open hockey or what have you, but eventually when my monetary situation stabilizes, I'll want to join a legit beer league. So what rinks are there around LA County? I'll be living in Santa Monica but I'm open to wherever there's hockey lol.

Damn it's going to suck having to actually pay for adult league hockey now... boo.

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[Puckstop40]

I would say Toyota Sports in El Segundo will be your best option. There is also Glacial Gardens in Lakewood.

 

[Darlon]

For the most part, I play at Pasadena and the LA Kings Valley Ice Center in Panorama City which is where the 170 and the 5 meet. But TSC in El Segundo is a straight shot down the 405 and about a mile west on the 105. It's also probably the best option in terms of quality of the facility as well as overall competition.

 

[Fanned On It]

Soo apparently there are only two hockey players from LA on these boards? LOL. Well, I did a search and I found that "Lakewood Ice" or "The Rinks" as it's also called has a bunch of pick-up and sticks and pucks time slots. I was wondering if anyone has been to these and how they were if you have. I'm especially looking for feedback on the pick-up games. As we all know, if a pick-up only has two empty nets and 3 skaters, it's probably not worth it to go to.

 

[Primary Assist]

wow I'm surprised I just saw this. The nicest rink in LA is Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, where the Kings practice. There's also a good hockey shop 5 minutes from there called Jake's where I've gotten the best sharpening I've ever had out here. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Culver Ice Arena, which is one of the worst rinks I've ever played at with a pretty lackluster staff as well. The cool part is that Hans from the Mighty Ducks movies is based on the guy who works in the pro shop. They only based the appearance on him though, not the fact that he yells at the customers when they ask him any form of question.

Panorama City has a big facility, with 2 full sized rinks and a half-sheet used for drop-ins, lessons and stick times. Bay Harbor in Torrance is one of my favorite rinks because that was my college team's home rink and the staff are extremely courteous and knowledgeable. It's a single sheet facility so it can't compete with the bigger rinks, but it's absolutely worth checking out.

The rink in Burbank is huge, but I've only played there once. I actually got to skate with Will Arnett which was pretty cool since we were filming for his TV show.

My current home rink is Glacial Gardens, which is in the Lakewood/Long Beach area. It just got bought by a big company called the Rinks who own several, you guessed it, rinks in the LA and OC area. Their adult league is great with seven different levels of skill and game availability. The staff is nice and the pro-shop is pretty well stocked.

Send me a private message if you want more info or if you ever need a goalie.

 

[Primary Assist]

I spent 5 years playing for the Red Wings and Bay Harbor is only slightly better than Culver. The only difference is you actually have players' benches at BH.

Palos Verdes has a tiny rink in the mall that is fun for 3v3 games if you're into that sort of thing. My buddy used to work there so we'd always get free ice time and I lived down the street from there.

TSC Friday mid day pick up is the best. I used to go to it all the time when I'd visit home from college but haven't been in a couple years. Bay Harbor and Culver Sunday morning pick ups aren't shabby either.

Apparently Bay Harbor went through a massive renovation the year before I came out to LA. I'm not sure how recently you were out here, but I've always thought it was a pretty decent rink.

 

[Terry Yake]

TSC is definitely your best bet in terms of skill level and how well they run the league

the competition there is better than any other rink i've ever played at. pick ups there are great too

 

[Gentle Ben Ken0bi]

Isn't Culver the rink that had the undulating ice. I played a pickup game there once and the locker room was upstairs so once you go dressed you had to walk down the stairs with your skates on. I noticed that everyone was carrying their bags down after they got dressed. I asked them why and they said their stuff gets stolen. Good times.

I play in Escondido, about twice a week. That is all I have to offer.

 

[Darlon]

Panorama City has a big facility, with 2 full sized rinks and a half-sheet used for drop-ins, lessons and stick times. Bay Harbor in Torrance is one of my favorite rinks because that was my college team's home rink and the staff are extremely courteous and knowledgeable. It's a single sheet facility so it can't compete with the bigger rinks, but it's absolutely worth checking out.

I believe you may be mistaken. Panorama City is the LA Kings Valley Ice Center. They have a rink slightly smaller than NHL size and an even smaller POS rink that was converted from a roller rink. The only good thing about it is all the stick time they have throughout the entire day.

 

[Primary Assist]

I believe you may be mistaken. Panorama City is the LA Kings Valley Ice Center. They have a rink slightly smaller than NHL size and an even smaller POS rink that was converted from a roller rink. The only good thing about it is all the stick time they have throughout the entire day.

I may be wrong, I haven't played their since my last ACHA game. I was always under the impression they had two regular sized rinks and the small one with the bad ice. Funny story, one time my friend was playing a game there when the fire alarm went off and all the players had to crawl on their shins out to the parking lot. I've totally never heard of that happening at any rink before.

 

[ginblossoms]

surprisingly, la has lots of adult hockey options. just sharing some of my thoughts here...

culver ice is interesting 'cause that's where the kings practiced way back in the day. and yeah, even those nhl guys had to walk up and down those darn stairs to/from the locker room. i think there's some story about one of 'em falling down the stairs once or something. also note that this is the closest ice rink to where you're gonna be in santa monica. some good local eats nearby too (tito's tacos and johnny's pastrami).

haven't skated at bay harbor post-renovation, but i really liked that rink (outside of the horrible ice pre-reno). yeah, it's old, but that dank, musty air and gates made from old wooden hockey sticks gave that place so much charm. figure skater michele kwan also trained there as a kid. there's a restaurant (thai food last time i checked) that's attached to one end of the rink. interesting.

all in all, tsc in el segundo is the best for competition level. i swear those guys in the platinum level (or whatever the highest level is called) could take on the la kings training camp tryout-level guys. you'll also have a decent chance to end up playing with/against a b-level celebrity.

considering your location, if you're into roller hockey at all, there's a pretty good outdoor rink over in the palms area (west of 405 between national and venice blvds). free adult pickup there several nights a week. plus an adult league.

disclaimer: i haven't been in socal for a couple years, so things may have changed since then...