Lack of sunshine would brighten icemakers’ days
Stay tuned for Regina’s new ice age.
Installation of the ice at Mosaic Stadium — where the NHL Heritage Classic is to be held Oct. 26 — is to begin Friday.
By then, a crew of 100 people will be immersed in the transformation of the stadium from a football venue into a temporary, 33,000seat hockey rink.
The objective is to have everything ready by Oct. 24, one day before the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames are to practice at the stadium in preparation for the outdoor regular-season game.
The first step, taking place during the week, is to connect a variety of pipes to the floor level at the stadium to allow for the ice-making process to eventually begin. The ice plant, housed in the NHL’S Mobile Refrigeration Unit, arrived in Regina on Tuesday.
“The ice plant is very similar to what you would have in an NHL building, except ours is in a 53-foot trailer,” said Derek King, the NHL’S senior manager, facility operations and hockey operations.
King knows the drill, having been involved with 15 previous NHL outdoor games.
“Every one is different, with the set-up and how long the pipe run is down to the field,” he said. “With different cities, you’ve got different climates and stuff like that to look at, so it’s always changing.”
Here’s a change: At last word, there weren’t any palm trees in Regina. The surroundings were different in January of 2014, when the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks met at Dodger Stadium.
“It was great,” King recalled. “There was sunshine during the day and it was 90 degrees (F) out and you could enjoy the weather. You’re making ice in a T-shirt and shorts. It was definitely fun.
“You’re kind of awestruck when you get into a venue. It’s no different than here. It’s definitely a beautiful facility here. We all walked around (Tuesday) morning and got the lay of the land and took it all in. Once the trucks start arriving, it’s time to get to work.”
In contrast to Southern California, the climate in Saskatchewan is unpredictable — especially at this time of year. Will there be rain? Snow? An extended autumn?
“Weather doesn’t really play a factor with the ice plant that we have,” King said. “Cloud cover is going to be great when we’re building ice, but if it’s a warm day we’ll use the ice plant to cool the floor. We’ll adapt to what Mother Nature gives us.”
Sunshine, as much as it is enjoyed by the denizens of Regina, is not ideal for the ice-makers.
“If it’s going to be sunny during the day, we’ll cover the ice and then we’ll build ice at night,” King said. “If it’s going to be cloudy, that will actually allow us to get ahead of schedule and we can build 24 hours a day.”
The Heritage Classic is to begin on a Saturday at 8 p.m. The following day, on Oct. 27, the Regina Pats will play host to the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL Prairie Classic. Faceoff is set for 2 p.m. “We’ll start removing ice Sunday night, right after the Pats game,” King noted. “We’ll probably be all packed up and return it to being a football field on Wednesday afternoon. The dismantling will be pretty quick.”
A fan festival will be held before ■ the Heritage Classic and WHL Prairie Classic. Activities for fans of all ages will take place at Confederation Park on Oct. 26 (1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.) and Oct. 27 (10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.).