In partnership with the WSU men’s ice hockey club and the Palouse Ice Rink, a group of sports management students hosted “Frozen Friday” on Nov. 12.

During the event, students had the opportunity to slide down the Thompson Flats on a block of ice (known as “ice blocking”) with all proceeds going toward the Palouse Ice Rink and the men’s ice hockey club. 

The event raised roughly $1,200,  said Jessica Towner, project manager and senior sports management major.

The main purpose of Frozen Friday was to help fund a new ice rink being built by the Palouse Ice Rink. However, the event coordinators also reached out to the men’s ice hockey club to help promote their club due to a lack of exposure, Towner said.

“It’s basically just a fun time for people to come out and slide down a hill,” she said. “People don’t know a lot about ice blocking, so they’re very intrigued with what [it] actually is.”

Along with casual ice blocking, the event also had a race for students to compete for prizes.

The event team hosted a raffle, which was sponsored by the Portland Winterhawks, the Spokane Chiefs and the Tri-City Americans. It was $5 for one ticket, $8 for two tickets and $20 for five tickets.

Cathal O’Dea won two Portland Winterhawks shirts, a hat, two tickets, rally towels and two scarves. 

Grant Kinzer won a puck, photo and bobblehead all signed by players on the Spokane Chiefs. Kinzer also won two t-shirts. 

Ashley Buhner won a signed Carey Price hockey stick — an item with a $600 value.

It rained during the event, which Towner said she had been anticipating.

“The nice thing about this is that rain doesn’t hinder the ice block,” she said. “You go faster with the rain, so that’s an incentive of ‘Hey, do you want to go really fast down this hill?’”

Kane Paxton, men’s ice hockey club president, said the event was good for him and his team to network with other students.

“With the Seattle Kraken coming into town, people are starting to find hockey a little bit more fun and entertaining,” Paxton said. “So it has been good for us on our end for bridging spectators to come check [the club] out.”

The money that the club earned from the event is going toward travel and equipment costs. The team is going on the road to face the Stanford Cardinal, which Paxton said will require a lot of money. 

Nick Caton, senior sports management major, said he heard about Frozen Friday in his class and decided to attend the event. Caton said he had never done ice blocking before, but found it exciting and described the experience as “sledding on steroids.”

“I would recommend it to people,” he said. “I got a little wet, but if you don’t have any plans afterwards, it’s perfect.”

Tom Speer, senior accounting and finance major, said he has also never gone ice blocking before but found it very fun.

“It’s fun to go out and play like a little kid again,” Speer said.

He said the experience was a lot faster than he thought and that it was “very wet.” However, he said he would recommend the event to everyone because it helps to support a team.