"Ambience is important; there was no snow anywhere in Chicago on Saturday except inside the big stadium, where it certainly looked wintry. Thanks for that goes to Kevin Gift of Medina, Ohio, and his crew, who are in charge of installing the rink and making sure the two 200-ton chillers are operating correctly. The men had to resurrect the northeast corner of the rink Friday evening after sun took a toll, melting some of the surface down past the painted lines.
Also Friday night, man-made snow was deposited all around the rink courtesy of Soldier Field's snow-making apparatus that is used every winter to accommodate Chicago sledders at a nearby hill. "The equipment was already on site," Gift said. It turned cold enough, gray enough and windy enough Saturday to keep the ice and snow from shrinking. In fact, the ice temperature was 10 degrees in the morning before Gift and his workers raised it to 23 degrees by afternoon for team practices. He hopes to keep it at 23 for Sunday's games. Perfect for outdoor hockey.
...Minnesota won the opener 3-2 Friday at the Kohl Center, then took a 166-mile bus ride to Chicago for practice Saturday afternoon. After practice, there were smiles all around. Coach Don Lucia said the players did not want to leave the ice. He enjoyed it, too. 'The ice just sounds different when you're outside," he said. "Your skates make a different noise on the rink.'
...'I really forgot how awesome it was,' he said [Haula] after practice. 'I could have stayed out there all night. The weather was perfect, and the ice was not that bad. It was a great atmosphere.'"
It's Newbie Season.......
