Hundreds of area children and adults lace up their skates every year at the home of Steve Pailler and Nancie Picconi to play hockey on their homemade backyard rink. 

"We love all of this, having everyone here," Nancie Picconi said, pointing to the dozen children playing hockey in her backyard on Thursday. 

Pailler, who was one step away from the NHL during his hockey career, offers lessons to the children who visit his rink, and the couple has almost a hundred pairs of skates on hand for newcomers to the sport. 

"It's great to see them out there and not in front of a screen; they get exercise and teamwork and we love to see that," Pailler said.