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Facilities
Mercyhurst Ice Center
The $1.4 million Mercyhurst Ice Center (MIC), built in 1991 for the Laker hockey team, has 35,280 square feet. It was the first privately owned professional-size hockey rink in Erie . In 1999, it became home of the Mercyhurst women's hockey program. Mercyhurst students can also use the ice for recreational skating. The Ice Center was the site of the 1995 ECAC West Playoffs, the 1995 NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Championship between Mercyhurst and Bemidji State, the 2005 women's College Hockey America (CHA) Playoffs, and the 2007 NCAA women's Quarterfinal game between Mercyhurst and Minnesota Duluth. In addition to men's and women's varsity hockey, the Mercyhurst Ice Center is also used by the college's club hockey team, the Erie Youth Hockey Association, local high school teams, local figure skating clubs and the Erie Chapter of SABAH. The rink opened Dec. 8, 1991.
Recent improvements were made to the facility in June 2007. The College paid $175,000 to a Minnesota company for new dasher boards, glass, protective netting, player benches, and penalty boxes. This was the first facelift in those areas since the doors opened in late 1991. New 8-foot panes of glass surround three sides of the ice while new 4-foot panes are located on the players' benches side.
In a unique funding arrangement, Mercyhurst students agreed to pay for the ice center through a $56 increase in their annual building assessment fee. The money generates $80,000 each year and will retire the school-backed bond in 2021.
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