Late Ice

Grafton women's hockey rents every hour it plays. The Barn is a city rink with one sheet, and this season a box club keeps laying turf over it. Casey Maki has held the program together with both hands since she was a sophomore. She is not giving the hours back.

Matt Vandusen is the one with the pencil. His club's winter is his family's winter. He writes the board politely, and he will not budge.

They fight for the ice. Then they start showing up early to fight in person. Then the building itself starts failing, and the hours left to split get smaller while neither of them can afford to lose. The smart play is walking away. The season is not built for that.