NHL Has Plans If Weather Doesn’t Cooperate

Added on Dec 27, 2010 by J Merrill in

NHL

With the reports coming out about what the weather will be like for the winter classic, some hints of panic are beginning to set in. The forecast for game day is temperatures in the fifties, and rain at Heinz Field this Saturday. It could only get worse if it was 65 and sunny, and its obviously not the weather the NHL wants for its showcase game on New Years day.

What will the NHL do if the weather doesn’t cooperate? First and foremost, the game is scheduled to take place at 1 pm Eastern Time. If they think the conditions will be better later in the afternoon, they can push back the start time and play later on in the day. Sure, it would be a nightmare for Fox NHL, but they are obligated to run the game anyway.

What happens if the weather is bad all day? Well, the NHL has also reserved Heinz Field for Sunday, when the forecast looks to be more forgiving. However, I can only imagine the NHL does NOT want this. If the game was on Sunday, they would be competing with football which would most likely detract viewers from the game. Including the Steelers’ game in Cleveland. The Steelers must win that game, or the Ravens must lose at home to Cincinnati, to claim the AFC North title and be seeded No. 2 in the AFC playoffs.

While they would prefer the game temp to be below freezing, NHL Ice Chief Dan Craig said the warmer temperature wouldn’t necessarily affect the ice. The ice is 2 ½ inches thick, and is kept at a temperature of 22 degrees. Only bright sunshine in conjunction with warming temperatures would soften the ice. The National Weather Service is calling for showers with a high of 51 degrees on Saturday, and on Sunday is calling for a high of 37 degrees with rain or snow coming.

The red hot Sidney Crosby told the media they really want the weather to go their way, but its something they all have to deal with. He said “It’s something you’ve got to deal with. It’s something that’s a possibility, but it’s not unusual for a game like that. I don’t think you’re going to hear any complaints. We’ll just cross our fingers and hope all the conditions are well. I think whatever happens, whatever the forecast is, whatever the weather is, we’re just happy to be in that game.”

The worst case scenario is the rain, as the rain could reek havoc on the ice. If its a light rain, the rain can freeze when it hits the ice, and cause an uneven playing surface which would be unsafe for the players. If the they get a heavy rain, they run the risk of the surface flooding with rain. Either way, the conditions would be dangerous for the teams.

Craig is insisting that the winter classic ice is much more advanced then it was at the first one, and therefore could handle more extreme weather. He said “We have instrumentation that we put into the system called Eye on the Ice that we monitor; it sends us signals all the time. Every 15 minutes we’ll log and trend it so we can graph what’s happening on any given day. And every city we go to, we have a complete weather breakdown of our area so we know what weather systems are coming through.”

The Winter Classic rink has been finished on top of a platform above Heinz Field’s grass turf, and ice making began Sunday. The ice was to be painted white Monday, and the rink markings and logos are to be painted Tuesday. The ice is expected to mature by Thursday, when any final adjustments are to be made. Saturday and Sunday are the only days the Winter Classic can be played because the stadium must be turned back over to the Steelers. The turf has to be replaced for the second time this season before any Steelers home playoff game.