With an expected high of 79 degrees in L.A. on Saturday for the Ducks-Kings Coors Light Stadium Series game, event officials "have expressed confidence the Dodger Stadium ice quality will be fine as temperatures decrease in the evening," according to Lance Pugmire of the L.A. TIMES. The Ducks will practice at Dodger Stadium at 6:00pm PT on Friday, and team Equipment Manager Doug Shearer said that he will "get the players' reaction to the ice quality immediately afterward, and also during the game." Shearer said that he will "bring two skate machines to Saturday's game, keeping an extra in the Dodgers' dugout if widespread adjustments are necessary" (
L.A. TIMES, 1/21). In California, J.P. Hoornstra notes NHL Senior Dir of Facilities Operations Dan Craig has until Friday "to decide if the game needs to be rescheduled," because the league "won’t reschedule the game" after that time. Hoornstra notes the average high in L.A. on Jan. 25 is 68, the "record is 86 in 1986, and the average low is 48." For Craig, those numbers are "hardly an obstacle." He said of maintaining the temperature of the ice, "We’ll be right at the 22-degree mark. That’s our focus, that’s what we want to be, that’s where we’ve always been. The efficiency of the floor -- I can tell you that it’s going to be 22, and the truck will be pushing at 20. Everybody says 'well it’s 80 degrees outside.' That’s how efficient that truck is." Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten said, "The NHL has supreme confidence in their ability to put the game on. I would have been concerned if the weather was going to be too cold, but in Michigan last week, even that’s not a problem. We should be fine" (
Inland Valley DAILY BULLETIN, 1/21).
A BRONX TALE: The NHL at the Stadium Series games in N.Y. will offer a variety of hockey-themed fan attractions within the Great Hall and concourse of Yankee Stadium. The fan zone will include interactive attractions, prizes, giveaways and merchandise tents with an extensive selection of Stadium Series merchandise and collectibles (NHL).
