Sault Ste. Marie has always been a hockey town! We sifted through over 100 pages of hockey history to narrow down to just seven facts. We know there are endless championships, players, and notable moments, but we did our best to pick the top seven facts about hockey history in Sault Ste. Marie. Here they are!

1. Sault Ste. Marie’s pride and joy, Pullar Ice Arena, was completed in 1939. At the time it was only the third artificial ice arena in the nation and one of the few in the world with summer ice.

2. Hockey greats such as Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel, and Alex Delvechio skated at the Pullar.

Local Bill Lynn with hockey great Gordie Howe

3. Detroit Red Wings training camp took place at the Pullar from 1948-1958.

4. Sault Ste. Marie’s own Blue Devil’s High School hockey team holds the record for the third longest game in the state of Michigan at 92:34 minutes.

5. Notable alumni such as Ryan Miller (NHL Hockey Player – Vancouver Canucks), and Scott Parse (Retired NHL Hockey Player – LA Kings) are products from the Junior A Soo Indians team!

6. Over 30 NHL players are alumni of The Lakers, Lake Superior State University’s official hockey team.

7. When at home in Sault Ste. Marie, The Lakers play at the Norris Center (now Taffy Abel Arena). However, during 1991-1993, and 1995 – Joe Louis was dubbed “Norris Center South” because the Lakers played so many playoff games at the (soon to be former) home of the Red Wings.

Once again, this is only seven of the hundreds and hundreds of facts about Sault Ste. Marie hockey! Feel like we missed an important piece of history? Let our audience know by sharing the story as a comment on Facebook or Twitter!