Know who’s the latest to take notice of Verizon Center’s poor ice quality? No less than the new Executive Director of the NHLPA, Paul Kelly. In particular, he mentioned the building temperature to The Hockey News:
“I think frankly that there’s been an unfortunate deterioration of the ice condition in certain arenas, because they load the arenas with multiple events.
“For example, having watched the Capitals/Rangers game (recently) in Washington, it was too warm in that building. It was simply too warm, and it had to affect the ice surface.”
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I don’t really know anything about Ice quality but I just wanted to comment about Tarik reporting that Brashear will play on the second line tonight. I think that this shows an excellent flexibility in Boudreau and a willingness to experiment which I love.
I’m pretty new to hockey so if anybody has any opinions on this I would love to hear them.
Yeah… VC has poor ice quality… riiiight.
Did he see that fiasco in Buffalo? The one where they had to zam the ice several times during the course of play, or when they had to do a ten-minute repair of the ice? The one where the ice became choppy courtesy of the weather so pucks didn’t lay flat and players struggled to keep control?
Oh right, the league sanctioned and heavily promoted it. So some poor ice conditions need to be remedied, while others are lauded.
After Clark publicly complained about the ice, there was one game where VC felt colder before the game. I was chatting with the usher in my section (402)before the game and she told me that it was “too cold.” I responded that I rather have it cold in order to have better ice for the players. Unfortunately, it has not felt that cold at VC since then.
Grooven -
Do you have family on the VC ice maintenance staff? It got so bad out there that the team captain took his complaints very publicly to the Washington Post last month. And the owner, on his blog, acknowledged the poor conditions and announced the formation of some ice techs to explore the matter and make recommendations for improvements.
As for the sheet in Buffalo, I don’t know what Winter Classic coverage you’ve been reading, but I’ve yet to encounter a single sentence of commendation about it. Instead, the press has lauded the event’s overall atmosphere while acknowledging the challenges the league endured during, foremost among them an ice sheet impaired by poor weather and the pitch of the field.
Grooven, your comments are usually on the mark, but comparing the Phone Booth’s slush to the Winter Classic isn’t valid. The Verizon Center is supposedly a controlled environment, one not dissimilar to most other NHL buildings. Yet the ice there is widely considered to be among the worst in the league. If it’s bad now, how much worse will it be as Spring approaches?
Nobody’s saying the Buffalo event had a good-quality surface; but nobody is saying that about the Caps’ home ice either, and that’s a problem.
Not to mention the Winter Classic ice surface was constructed in less than a week in nearly uncontrollable climate conditions…
I recently attended a game at the phonebooth. Prior to the game, I visited the Dewar 12 Club. It was so cold in there that I had to leave my coat on for the duration. Once I took my seat in the arena, I couldn’t wait for the first stoppage in play so that I could stand to remove my coat. That is just not right. An ice rink should be uncomfortably cold in shirt sleeves, while a bar should be cozy and warm.
I’m not saying that VC has good ice. I don’t play on it but I have been on the ice surface.
I’ve heard the complaints. I also heard the complaints made about the game in Buffalo. But there is was celebrated. Rightly or wrongly so, that’s the case. My parallel was in stating that ice conditions can be remarkably similar and vastly different, both good and bad, while not being “ideal”.
The reason my comparison makes sense, to me at least, is that you take a controlled environment and protest conditions vs taking a game FROM a controlled environment into a an uncontrolled one. (And one they will intentionally do again, not out of necessity — like a roof caving in — but rather for the business marketability and publicity involved.)
I’m a strong proponent of the potential of using the current VC ice to our advantage. Such conditions can be made into a very strong home-ice advantage. The same was a known weak seam in the dashers behind the goal can be used to an offensive advantage. (Or a muddy 32-yd-line on a football field, or the soft patch in the outfield, or…)
I hear the complaints. I understand the complaints. I’m not saying the ice cannot be improved (or that it should not). I’m stating that the current ice conditions are not a lost cause.
And I find that Kelly ’s presumption of temperature as a culprit to be just another mouth talking. His matter-of-fact statement leaves the impression to me of a “it seems to be because it has to be” as opposed to “it is and here’s why”. To use his own wording to form my own questions for Mr. Kelly:
1. “…it had to affect the ice surface.” This is a simple question: does he know the ice is bad, or is he just repeating what others have said? As an official representative and spokesman, I would hope the former.
2. Does the ice deteriorate due to the number of non-hockey events?
3. Does the ice deteriorate because of the ambient temperature?
4. Are the two (number of events and ambient temp) related?
5. Does anything aside from ambient temperature affect the ice surface?
6. Would reducing the number of events de-facto improve the ice conditions?
7. Would lowering the temperature fix the ice conditions?
8. What other factors could possibly be in play? (Humidity, elevation in relation to sea level, Zamboni vs Olympic Ice Resurfacer)
(I am not stating that the ice should not be made better if our players are saying so. Nor is this my saying that outdoor games aren’t fun or enjoyable to watch.)
Like I said, a comparison that maybe it just makes sense to me.
Man, I must be tired to be that wordy… sorry.
Something really does need to be done about the ice in VC. I, typically a girl who is cold and lives in turtlenecks when it gets below 45 degrees, have found myself to be warm at the games I have attended this year. Last time, I not only shed my coat but was ready to start a strip tease!
Amy -
There are four season ticket seats among the OFB team. We don’t do a good job, I don’t think, of connecting frequently enough with our readers, and a game seems like the logical locale. Why don’t you consider joining us for one early in ‘08.
The last couple of games I’ve bene at the ice seems to have been in somewhat better shape. There aren’t huge puddles in the goal zones like they’re used to be. It may just be a side benefit of the colder air outside making it easier on the refrigerators, but it is a bit of an improvement. They could still do alot better though. I hope Ted can get Abe to do the right thing over the coming summer and replace all of the buildings refrigeration units and overhaul the water pipping.
pucksandbooks -
How kind of you to extend the invitation! Undoubtedly, our paths will surely cross at some point. I’ll be the girl swinging the black turtleneck sweater over her head.
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