Former hockey pro scores with home rink

STAMFORD -- Sitting in front of Tony DelCarmine's North Stamford home is a 30-by-45 ice rink with plastic boards that run about a foot high. He spends his nights flooding his homemade rink with water to smooth over any rough patches and keep the ice fresh for his 2-year-old twins and 5-year-old daughter."It's just a liner, and you throw water in," DelCarmine said Sunday as his children and their cousins glided across the small patch of ice. "There are nights when you might be out here at 10 p.m. watering it down."DelCarmine built the rink about three years ago with the help of a kit he bought on a Web site dedicated to backyard ice rinks. When it gets cold enough, he sets it up in the front yard of his Brookdale Road home. His children, relatives and sometimes family friends can be seen skating shoes on the rink most days during the week, even at night -- the DelCarmines have a portable floodlight that illuminates the rink for evening skates."The neighbors are very tolerant," said Tony's wife, Suzanne DelCarmine, 38.Tony DelCarmine is a Stamford native and first laced up hockey skates when he was 5. The 39-year-old played for Choate Rosemary Hall, a prep school in Wallingford, before hitting the ice for Dartmouth College. During college, he played in a tournament in Cherbourg, France, and a professional team there scouted him for the next season. He played there for two years and then for a year in Paris."There were some lonely nights, but you battle through it," DelCarmine said, saying the hospitality of teammates and friends helped him learn the language and enjoy home-cooked French meals. Now, the finance worker said he wants his children to get on ice early so they can learn the game he loves."To this day, I still play hockey," DelCarmine said. "The camaraderie, the friendship -- they are invaluable, so it just seemed natural to put up a rink."Sunday afternoon, a pickup game between cousins began on the rink. Taylor, the 5-year-old daughter of Tony and Suzanne, played in figure skates with a pink hockey stick. Billy Murphy, 14, wore a Michigan university sweatshirt and skated with his younger brother, Brian. "You could learn how to skate on it," Billy said of the ice rink while warming up next to an outdoor fireplace. "You pretty much can do anything on it.Staff writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni or 203-964-2215.

About the Author

Christian Louboutin Sale Online Store are hot selling Cheap Christian Louboutin Shoes in different Styles and Colors, Welcome to Our Louboutin Sale Online Stores.