After the disappointment of losing the title of Kraft Hockeyville 2020, the village of Pense was flooded with donations from around the province. Businesses and residents came together, donating over $175,000 dollars to help renovate the local rink.

Pense Rink Board member Graeme Crosbie says the town has been blown away by the response.

"It's interesting, we have almost received in donations, the money we would have received had we won the Hockeyville title, which is pretty crazy when you think about it. It's been overwhelming."

The local rink's brine cooling system is over 30 years old now and was only meant to last for 25 years. The cost of replacement was a steep $300,000, and the amount of time estimated to raise such a sum was daunting.

"Relief is a good word," chuckles Crosbie, "because $300,000 to raise in a town of about 500 people is quite a big chunk of change. When we set out to raise this money we figured it would take ten years. And even in ten years, that's an average of $30,000 a year which is still a lot of money."

Thanks to an additional $30,000 grant from the Richardson Foundation, the rink will soon get the facelift it needs. Crosbie describes what this means for the town.

"It's huge. I mean, like most small towns in Saskatchewan, the rink is the gathering place for the community in the winter months. We've got all sorts of activities up there, seven days a week. Our minor hockey program for the kids is probably the biggest winner out of all this. Now those kids know that there will be a rink to practice and play games on for generations to come."

Now, thanks to the generosity of Saskatchewan residents, they'll have all the renovations completed and everything ready for the season next fall.