Bad Ice at the GRA

[Bonsai Tree]

I posted about the bad ice a couple of weeks ago and it was noted that this wasn't an issue.

From tweet of Craig Morgan: "Maybe not the best time to mention this, but Smith also noted that the ice at the GRA was awful: the 5th player to say that in last 3 days."

I haven't skated competitively in a long time, since everybody grew taller than I, (5'5") but I still remember the feel of mushy ice.

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[The Feckless Puck]

I have to wonder about the timing, how all of a sudden tons of players are speaking out about the bad ice.

But in fairness, the ice has been suboptimal at GRA for years. It's not like this is a new problem.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

I have to wonder about the timing, how all of a sudden tons of players are speaking out about the bad ice.

But in fairness, the ice has been suboptimal at GRA for years. It's not like this is a new problem.

Smith had to delay playing the puck when it hit bad ice and stopped just outside the trapezoid. That was part of why he gave away a goal. That's my assumption.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Smith had to delay playing the puck when it hit bad ice and stopped just outside the trapezoid. That was part of why he gave away a goal. That's my assumption.

Oh, sure, I read all about how the ice quality made him panic... But he's not the first player to come out and complain about the ice quality in the past little while.

 

[GiveAFlyingPuck]

They need an ice stimpmeter.

 

[Summer Rose]

The ice is extremely soft at GRA. I've skated a few times on it; once before an NHL game with the building not cooled down for us, and it felt like I was skating on pillows. Another time (with no NHL game that day) it wasn't as soft, but still softer than all the valley rinks.

If any of you are familiar with radius of hollow, normally I use a 1" cut (a very shallow cut especially considering my weight, but Arizona has soft ice as a whole), and I'd want a 1 1/2" cut for GRA if I ever skate there again.

 

[BlazingBlueAnt]

I feel like the ice in every rink in the league is really bad this year.

But yeah, GRA's always been pretty bad, just watch how the puck likes to roll around

 

[Summer Rose]

I feel like the ice in every rink in the league is really bad this year.

But yeah, GRA's always been pretty bad, just watch how the puck likes to roll around

In my experience, the puck rolling around is more related to the puck not being frozen or otherwise cold enough. Of course, soft ice certainly won't help the matter.

 

[MIGs Dog]

Don't know much about ice-making in the desert. What's the fix for our new arena? Better ice making machine? Better A/C? Humidity issues?

 

[Summer Rose]

Don't know much about ice-making in the desert. What's the fix for our new arena? Better ice making machine? Better A/C? Humidity issues?

Better A/C would likely be the most effective upgrade to the ice quality, since warmer ice is softer. Thicker brine pipes too perhaps but that's more of a trade-off than a direct upgrade. Might be effective since NHL arena ice is thinner than public rink ice.

 

[_Del_]

There've been plenty of ice complaints league-wide this season. Maybe GRA is having issues if there are that many complaints recently.
But I also agree that if this team could generate shots on goal at the same rate they generate excuses, they might solve their attendance problem.

 

[TheLegend]

The thread is about the ice at GRA. Not about player contracts or coaching staffs.

 

[kihekah19*]

This is not a big deal. If the general lack of preparedness and execution in other areas of the arena's (beyond the norm) events is any evidence, they most likely weren't prepared. There was a larger than normal crowd that started filing in 1/2 hour earlier than normal, on the warmest day since early last fall. Ice is nothing more than a heat exchange any lack of foresight given the described circumstances can have a negative impact on quality.

 

[TheLegend]

I have to wonder about the timing, how all of a sudden tons of players are speaking out about the bad ice.

But in fairness, the ice has been suboptimal at GRA for years. It's not like this is a new problem.

According to Morgan's article the league has allowed the players this year to fill out questionnaires after each game about the ice. So it appears the league thinks there might be an issue.

 

[TheLegend]

This is not a big deal. If the general lack of preparedness and execution in other areas of the arena's (beyond the norm) events is any evidence, they most likely weren't prepared. There was a larger than normal crowd that started filing in 1/2 hour earlier than normal, on the warmest day since early last fall. Ice is nothing more than a heat exchange any lack of foresight given the described circumstances can have a negative impact on quality.

There's some truth to that. It's much harder to cool down a building once it gets filled with people. I worked for a year in the life safety department at a hotel casino in Reno. One of the responsibilities we had was to monitor the HVAC throughout the property and we would always precool a convention room well before the time it was to be used. Because once you had 2000-3000 people inside it was impossible to get the temps down. Even when it was in the middle of winter and we had every chiller unit online.

 

[kihekah19*]

There's some truth to that. It's much harder to cool down a building once it gets filled with people. I worked for a year in the life safety department at a hotel casino in Reno. One of the responsibilities we had was to monitor the HVAC throughout the property and we would always precool a convention room well before the time it was to be used. Because once you had 2000-3000 people inside it was impossible to get the temps down. Even when it was in the middle of winter and we had every chiller unit online.

It's the only truth, unless something is wrong with the equipment. There is no magic to it.

 

[TheLegend]

It's the only truth, unless something is wrong with the equipment. There is no magic to it.

Indeed.

I don't recall complaints about the ice at GRA to the level I've seen lately. But AEG did request money from Glendale this past summer to make repairs to the cooling towers and to actually add a backup unit to what was there now. Glendale did approve the funds for it but whether or not they've completed it yet is anyone's guess.

 

[kihekah19*]

Indeed.

I don't recall complaints about the ice at GRA to the level I've seen lately. But AEG did request money from Glendale this past summer to make repairs to the cooling towers and to actually add a backup unit to what was there now. Glendale did approve the funds for it but whether or not they've completed it yet is anyone's guess.

Well there seems to be implied problems when the weather warms, often just from fans who are not on the ice. Having said that it would be difficult to ever have Edmonton quality here, particularly when the outside temps rise.

Cooling tower, dehumidifier's, monitoring systems and compressor issues can all lead to poor performance, or even catastrophic failures. I'm certain the NHL has required back up systems. I'm not certain how they go about insuring that all systems are functional.

 

[TheLegend]

Well there seems to be implied problems when the weather warms, often just from fans who are not on the ice. Having said that it would be difficult to ever have Edmonton quality here, particularly when the outside temps rise.

Cooling tower, dehumidifier's, monitoring systems and compressor issues can all lead to poor performance, or even catastrophic failures. I'm certain the NHL has required back up systems. I'm not certain how they go about insuring that all systems are functional.

Well there have complaints about Edmonton too. But it's a new building so probably needs some fine tuning. (Or they all just want to see McDavid slowed down).