Although we our just two weeks into the school year, the ice has been put down in the Lossone Rink with huge help from Mr. Gould and the physical plant. This is the earliest the ice has been down in the history of the school.

Williston hockey players have been out there a couple times for just a simple free skate. But while the skating is the same, the ice itself might be different for some of the new guys.

What they might not have been used to is the Look Up Line, which is a bright 40-inch orange border around the ice. It is similar to a warning track in baseball. Williston is one of the first schools to have it. The school received the line in 2014.

“I don’t really notice it now but at first I could tell the bright orange line was out there,” said Senior defensemen Michael D’Ambrosio.

Tom Smith, the creator of this line, hopes that this prevents spinal cord injuries which he suffered twice. His belief is that when a player notices he is in this area with the line, he picks up his head before crashing into the boards.

Senior Nick Schofield said, ” It lets us know when were in the danger areas and just keeps you more aware.”

Many prep  schools have this line now, along with Pingree School, which is where Tom Smith attended.

“I think that the younger kids need to be taught what it is because my two sons see it but don’t really know what it is,” Williston assistant coach Kyle Hanford said.

Hanford feels the line should be used as a teaching for younger players about the dangers of suffering traumatic injuries, and how to prevent them.