Lights cut out at the 10-minute mark in the third period of Saturday's Maple Leafs-Capitals gameGetty Images
Navy Senior Associate SID Scott Strasemeier said that a "split-second power reduction knocked out the lights" during the third period of Saturday's Coors Light Stadium Series game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, according to Rachael Pacella of the Annapolis CAPITAL GAZETTE. Baltimore Gas & Electric Company said that the power problem was "caused by the windstorm." Navy Associate AD/Operations & Championships Bill Givens said that the stadium uses "metal halide lights that need to cool off before they're turned back on." The lights "cut out at the 10-minute mark in the third period, and it took about 16 minutes to get them up and running again." BGE spokesperson Richard Yost said that gusts of wind caused an "electric circuit in the area to go out, which caused a voltage reduction at the electric circuit that serves the stadium." It "doesn't matter that the lights went off accidentally because of a drop in power that lasted less than a second -- they still needed time to cool down before they could be restruck" (Annapolis CAPITAL GAZETTE, 3/6).
OUTDOOR FUN: NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said of outdoor games, "Almost universally, (the players are) supportive. They really enjoy the experience of playing in that kind of environment in that kind of atmosphere in front of those fans. It energizes their game and it can create a nice diversion from one of your normal, run-of-the-mill NHL games in an arena." He added, "They’re also very valued to our sponsors, which I think is important at the end of the day -- both for the league and for the players." SPORTSNET.ca's Andrew Bottomley noted a common criticism of the events has been the "role that the environment plays on the result of the game." Saturday's Maple Leafs-Capitals game was almost "postponed to the following day" due to strong winds. Daly said, "The field level was a little bit below ground level ... they didn’t get the full brunt of the wind that you did higher up in the stadium. It was about 10 mph less in terms of wind gusts on the stadium floor than it was up in the stands" (SPORTSNET.ca, 3/5).
