As a resident of the Mid-Atlantic United States, I’m not too familiar with temperatures so cold that ice becomes brittle. I’m usually just happy to get a few days of skating in each winter. In Calgary, though, it gets really cold, and as a result, such ice issues can arise.
Heritage Classic 2011: No Zambonis To Be Used On McMahon Stadium Ice
Because it’s so cold in Calgary today -- and really, it’s not even as bad as it was on Saturday for the alumni game -- the Zamboni will not come out on the ice during intermission. The weight of the machine can literally break the ice, so Dan Craig and his ice team will have to use more traditional methods.
Instead, expert skating NHL ice crew members will clear the ice with specially-designed shovels. Craig’s son, Mike, will follow with a thin spray of hot water from a custom-made water-sprayer unit. Craig will guide his son - now there’s a Heritage twist - by walkie-talkie, since it is hard to see where the spray lands with all of the steam created.
Remember back to the Winter Classic when the warm temperatures and rain in Pittsburgh threatened the game? Now, the ice is too cold. Go figure.
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