A look at the Wright Township Ice Rink. An effort to restore the ice rink and dedicate it to the memory of Brian Madry and Tanner Kahlau is being spearheaded by Kahlau’s friend and teammate Jared McCune.
Photo courtesy of Jared McCune
Project celebrates Kahlau and Madry, Crestwood players who died young
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Jared McCune is owner of J. McCune Construction LLC and friend of Tanner Kahlau, who passed away in a skiing accident last week.
Photo courtesy of Jared McCune
Early cleaning and repair efforts are seen being made at the Wright Township Ice Rink.
Photo courtesy of Jared McCune
Early cleaning and repair efforts are seen being made at the Wright Township Ice Rink.
Photo courtesy of Jared McCune
Kahlau
Madry
WRIGHT TWP. — Plans to restore and dedicate the Wright Township Ice Rink in honor of two local hockey players who died young have been bolstered by a massive outpouring of support from the Mountain Top community.
B. Tanner Kahlau, 22, who died last Tuesday while skiing at Whiteface Mountain Ski Resort in Lake Placid, N.Y., was well-known in the community for his athletic abilities. Brian Madry, 16, of Wright Township, was a passenger in a car that crashed on a rural Fairview Township road in 2011.
The two were longtime hockey teammates in the Crestwood School District.
Kahlau played football and lacrosse for Crestwood High School, but it was his prowess on the ice that earned him a spot on the State University of New York at Fredonia’s hockey team.
A few days after Kahlau’s passing, Jared McCune, 20, who had played hockey with Kahlau and Madry, organized a GoFundMe page to help with a project that had already been in the works: restoring Wright Township’s ice rink, which had fallen into disrepair, to its former glory.
“I don’t think there’s even been ice on it for a few years,” said McCune who owns J. McCune Construction LLC. “This is a big hockey community, and there’s a lot of memories that have been made there and could be made there in the future.”
The renovation plans have been altered in the wake of Kahlau’s death to reflect his legacy and his love for the game: the rink would be named “Madry-Kahlau Ice Rink,” in honor of both young men.
“He always had a big smile on his face,” McCune said of Kahlau. “He was just the happiest soul.”
Much progress has been made already thanks to a wide showing of support from the community, according to McCune.
“It’s not where I want it to be yet long-term, but for now, it’s looking good,” McCune said. “We’ve had people reach out to us through Facebook asking to help out.”
The support has been staggering: in just four days since McCune made the GoFundMe account (which can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/madrykahlau-memorial-rink), over $47,000 in donations have come in from over 700 different donors.
“I honestly didn’t expect this much, it’s been really overwhelming,” McCune said.
Right now, the plan is for ice to be made on Friday, and a memorial game in honor of Kahlau and Madry is tenatively set to be played at the Madry-Kahlau Memorial Rink on Sunday. If the ice isn’t ready, the memorial game would be moved over to the Toyota Sportsplex on Coal Street and played on Saturday.
The game will be free of charge if played in Wright Township; a $25 registration fee for players would be required if the game is held at Coal Street.
Restoring the rink where he and Kahlau and their friends spent many a day on the ice would be a fitting tribute, according to McCune.
“I know Tanner would love to see this,” McCune said. “I bet he’d give anything to be out on that ice for one more game.”
A private funeral service for Kahlau’s family will be held at 10 a.m. today at St. Jude’s Church in Mountain Top, with a livestream available for friends at www.stjc.org.