HIDALGO – After a three year hiatus, the Killer Bees are back on the scene. But you can’t have hockey without one important thing.

The ice.

“The process has been really good,” said State Farm Arena Hidalgo Director of Operations Santos Farias. “The ice is going down really smoothly. The weather has been helping us a lot.”)

But building an ice rink isn’t just freezing some water.

“Turning on the plant, making sure everything is working properly, then running a mist over it, a light mist with water over it,” said Farias. “ After doing that the logos, you start putting more and more water, making it look nice.”

With the rink just days away from completion, fan anticipation is only getting stronger.

“People are excited to know that it’s coming back,” said USA CHL general manager Kevin Lovig. “The phone doesn’t stop ringing with people looking forward to next Friday, October 26th for the first game.”

Alongside the Killer Bees, three other teams included in the league are the McAllen based Texas Lawmen, Laredo Bucks, and Wichita Falls Force.

“Once the players hit the ice, they’ll play a total of 48 games. 24 will be at home and 24 will be on the road. As far as rosters go, each team will have up to 23 players.

“The majority of the kids will be 18 to 20 years of age,” said Lovig. “They are going for scholarships, so they are not going to professional hockey right now. Their goal is to one, get a good education as they continue on in their aceers, and second of all, to see if they can make it further in their professional careers.”

Practice is already underway for the league’s four teams.

While the Killer Bees will play their home games at State Farm Arena Hidalgo, the Texas Lawmen will be based at the Frio Grande Valley Ice Center in McAllen.