I always have to re-lace my skates, so I just get it over with before I even get on the ice. I lace up the left one, then the right one, then go back and re-tighten the left one, pulling up slack from the toe box, over the arch, then re-lacing the hook area and re-tying, then doing the same with the right one. I think what happens is that the boots soften and loosen up after you lace them up, due to the heat from your foot (makes sense considering most of our boots are heat-moldable).