Last night during the 2nd intermission, the game between the Golden Knights and Calgary Flames was delayed for more than half an hour due to an issue with the ice. It was confusing for not only the fans watching but also the players who said they were ready to come out for the 3rd period, but were then told to turn around.
What actually happened wasn’t anything that occurred while the game was taking place, nor was it a mistake by the crew operating the Zambonis. Instead, it was an unfortunate product of the circumstances surrounding all that’s happening at T-Mobile Arena this month.
To begin explaining this, it’s important to first understand how the graphics under the ice are placed so everyone in the rink and on television can see them. For the solid colors, such as the blue lines, the goal crease, and the faceoff circles, they are painted onto the concrete that lies below the ice. For all of the more complex items, such as the center logo, the center red line, and each of the advertisement logos, they are printed on vinyl and placed in their respective areas under the ice.
Once they are all laid properly, the rink is flooded with a thin layer of water and then frozen. This happens over and over again until the ice builds up to be around an inch and three-quarters thick. Of course, ice is clear, thus the graphics below the ice are easy for everyone to see.
Then, when each period ends, the Zambonis drive onto the ice to make two laps. First, a series of blades cuts the ice so the surface returns to being flat. Then, they drop a layer of water, which quickly freezes, on top of the now flat surface to build the ice back up to the correct thickness.
Ok, so, now fast forward to last night.
When the Zamboni drove over the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) logo, the blade that flattens the surface caught a piece of the vinyl the logo is printed on. It’s pretty clear to see by the little slit in the V. However, you’re probably asking yourself, how did the blade cut through 1.75” of ice to catch the logo?
Unlike the typical arrangement, the logo was not lying directly on the concrete at the very bottom of the ice surface. That’s because the NHL playoffs and Frozen Four are coming up at T-Mobile Arena soon. There are different graphics for each of these events, and thus there was a hamburger of sponsor logos sitting on top of each other in that corner. It looks something like this…
Ice
LVCVA Logo
Ice
Sponsor Logo
Ice
Sponsor Logo
Concrete
Each one is printed on a solid white background, so when they are stacked on top of each other, you can only see the one on the top.
Thus, the amount of ice between the LVCVA logo and the top of the ice surface was much thinner than normal. So, after a period of play that chewed up the ice, the blade of the Zamboni clipped the vinyl logo because there was no longer enough ice above it.
As it was, because the ice was so thin on top of the vinyl logo, if a player or referee skated over that area, their skate would touch the vinyl and stick, rather than slide. So, the ice crew had to quickly make new ice to patch up that area. They poured water, then hit it with a quick freeze product typically used to remove bubble gum from floors, walls, or the most common place you find it, underneath the desk of every 4th-grade homeroom class. The affected area was too large for that, though, so they then brought out the next biggest “quick freeze” item you can find in an NHL arena, the fire extinguisher. Pour water or patch it with other shaved ice, then blast it with carbon dioxide (CO2), and eventually it’ll freeze enough to be safe to skate on top of again.
The crew did this over and over again until the ice was thick enough that it was no longer as sticky and dangerous as it was when the vinyl was completely exposed.
This was not a mistake or any individual’s fault, nor was it even really avoidable considering the demands on the arena. It had nothing to do with the weather, the humidity, or the equipment being used. We’re talking about fractions of an inch that were fine in all three other corners, just not quite that one.
So, it happened, they went out and fixed it the best they could, and eventually the game went on.
No harm, no foul… well, other than the 30+ minute delay everyone had to endure on a Thursday night on the Las Vegas Strip.
