High-school rivalry games are always better at home. But what if for three fierce rivalry teams, their home games are also their away games at the same time?

Patterson Ice Arena is home to one amazing team: the Forest Hill Central Rangers. However, it is also home to two other teams: the East Grand Rapids Pioneers and the Northern-Eastern hockey team. Because of this joint relationship at the rink, it just fuels the rivalry every year and makes it even more competitive. To walk in every day and see the logos of your most hated rivals as they are skating on the same ice you are about to skate on makes you want to compete harder and push a little further. Senior Sammy Mielock, captain of the FHC hockey team, had this to say on the topic.

“It intensifies the competition because it’s not only for conference games when we play these teams,” Sammy said, “but also a competition of who owns and runs the rink that year.”

Not only do these three teams share the rink, but also their schools are in such close proximity to each other. They share the same communities and all three teams are mixed together but very much divided at the same time. This is why the rink is such a separator. With being out and about in public, when all three teams come to the rink, it is a war zone at all times. Sophomore Rocco Gonzalez added his thoughts about the heated rivalry the rink brings to these teams.

“We are competing for the rink each time we play our rivals. We practice on the same ice and see each other every day in the rink. I think being in such close proximity with other schools’ hockey teams creates a turf war, and each team hopes to prove they’re the best team at Patterson.”

Does the rink really determine if Northern-Eastern and EGR are our main rivals, or does it just add that extra flame during games because both teams are at home? Many people have opinions on this topic, but senior Justin Baehr has a very good way of putting it into perspective for the people out there.

“No, they would be our main rivals regardless of the rink. However, when you play them, you always do want to win those games especially because you want to prove that you are better than them but also that you are the best team at Patterson.”

The teams may be rivals regardless of the rink, but the rink does add more of a rivalry regardless. Whenever you see a team stepping on your home turf every day, you want to win that back day in and day out regardless of what happens.