Warren Haggard got up at 5:30 am, the morning after the snowstorm which had dumped 15 cm of powder snow on his beloved rink. A rink which had been devastated by the previous week's thaw, where plus Saltshaker temperatures had caused it to melt and water ran off the carefully groomed surface in torrents. So he started shovelling. Shovelling slushy snow which weighed so much that he was soon puffing like Charlie Sheen, chain-smoking and rambling, in his interview on ABC's 20-20. Wheezing and sweating, with a few well-chosen curses thrown in for good measure, he kept at it, lifting scoopfuls over the already formidable banks which served as "boards" for his little-used ice palace.
Detouring into the house for an quick injection of Red Bull, he made a slight tactical error of boasting about his feat to his wife Merle, who, roused from sleep, grumbled, "What about that leaky tap? And the caulking around the bathtub? And my breakfast?" Warren retreated quickly. 
He'd had little success attracting his grandson to share his passion for hockey, as the boy was inclined more to academics. "He sure didn't get that from me!" thought Warren, whose inclinations tended towards ABS - Anything But School. When pushed to get into the great outdoors, his grandson Eggbert had been quick to comment, "Papa, I'm 4 years old and I can print and write my name. I can write easy sentences in French and English. I can count bilingually from 1 to 100. Nana says you still can't do that!" "Point well taken, Eggbert"
So Warren, after he'd iced the rink for the 700th time that winter, and proudly observed the pristine surface gloss, wondered what he was going to do with it. "Pros would be lucky to skate on it" he muttered.
The annual NHL Alumni game - an outdoor affair - was scheduled for the next day. Every year, the Oldtimers would come to the Town of Ohville, and following a precedent set by Paul Henderson and Ron Ellis, choose a charity which would benefit from the hundreds which would watch their fluid motion exploits.
This year, household names from earlier years - forward line combos such as the Production Line, the Maginot Line and the Straight Not Gay Line, as well as defence pairings like the Neanderthals, the Concussers and the Turnbuckle Twins were scheduled to whip whoever and whatever Ohville might manage to put before then as a team.
"Sacrificial offering" thought Warren.
An alarm bell rang in the sports halls of town. "This ice is disastrous!" yelled the president of Rotary, who had assumed the responsibility for the outdoor venue. We've shovelled and flooded and the more we do the worse it gets!" "We'll going to have to cancel" he moaned. "Does anyone know where we might be able to relocate?" he pleaded. Dull silence. Finally, a new member offered, "I know this odd duck out in the Back 40. Warren Something-or-Other. He has a rink which he treats better than his family. Almost as good as his truck. I understand that his ice is in pretty good shape"
A delegation of made the trip to check out the feasibility of Warren's rink. They were impressed. Would you mind 1000 people trampling thru your wife's rose bushes in order to watch the game?" "No problem for me. Don't mention that to Merle though"
That afternoon, Warren watched with pride as the first of the NHLers hit the ice, stopped, started, spun, kicked and generally abused it. "Feels good! No boards, so we"ll play like we did as kids - no raising, no slapshots!" was the consensus.
The game took place in front of 946 Ohville fans, who cheered lustily for the All Star group of Firefighters and Police, who lost 13 - 2 to the effortless pros, who played like they did when they were 10 year olds, laughing, encouraging, carefree. "I'd forgotten how much I loved this game!" said one elated former pro. "I'll drink to that!" exclaimed Billy 'Skid' Row, currently fighting a very public DUI charge. When the NHLers were leaving for a reception downtown, a former Canadien, Claude Hopper, whose skating had benefitted enormously by his exposure on Battle of the Blades, said, "That's one of the best 3 outdoor rinks I've ever been on!" 
