BLOOMINGDALE — Under the lights of the Bloomingdale ice rink, the first skaters of the year played a game of two-on-two hockey on the rink’s opening night Wednesday.

The shortest skater, Cooper Woodruff, is 8 years old. He’s been skating for seven of them.

When Cooper was still an infant, his father, Josh, took on the role of creating the ice for the town of St. Armand. The town’s had this rink for as long as he can remember.

Every year, Josh packs the base and floods the 150-by-75-foot rink with water from a fire hose. The rink is right behind the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department’s building on state Route 3.

When a group of hockey players were skating on Wednesday night, the siren at the department sounded twice. Cooper said it sounded like the buzzer that rings when someone scores a goal in an NHL game. He plays with the Saranac Lake Pee Wee hockey team.

The Youth Building next to the ice has two lockers full of skates of all sizes and styles. There’s also a store of helmets, sticks and pucks. Rink employee Vanessa Columbe said anyone can come use this equipment to skate on the town’s ice for free when the building is open.

“The kids love it,” she said.

She said the rink was always busy last year, as people of all ages sought good winter activities to do outdoors during the pandemic.

Matthew Bordeau, who was practicing shots on goal, graduated from the Saranac Lake Central School District in 2008, and said he played for the school’s hockey team then.

Sometimes, he said, there are dozens of skaters out on the Bloomingdale rink. Last year, Cooper said parents would pull out lawn chairs, sit in the snow and watch the games. David Montroy said last spring found 108 pucks on the sides of the rink after the snow melted.

The rink’s Youth Building is open Monday through Friday from 4 to 7:30 p.m., noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Masks are required to be worn inside the building by all.