Problems at home?

During a recent game at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena something felt a little...well...odd. The ice didn't seem to have a seamless quality and it was almost as if you were skating with a bit of sandpaper stuck to the blades. Two lines of standing water exist down the bench-side of the ice, spanning the entire length of the rink. The problem? A clogged brine line that isn't allowing the ice to freeze properly and regulate the rink's temperature.

Only a few days before the opening preseason, and this is definitely not something that the Ice Arena staff are happy about. Buried underneath the freshly installed ice, paint work, and 2-year-old cement floor, to repair the tubing would take god knows how long. My guess is that it's going to have to just stay until the RoughRiders have a break, possibly in December between December 13th-December 30th when there are no home games. What a pain.

I wonder if this could possibly affect the RoughRiders home record during the first half of the season. It's really quite hard to say at this level of play because they are some of the best skaters around. I just can't imagine having to skate on that during a game "that matters" for a few weeks let alone nearly half the season. Hopefully the rink is able to figure something out or the players learn how to avoid troublesome spots and work with what they've got.

It's a shame. Usually Cedar Rapids has one of the best ice surfaces in the USHL, and after making improvements it goes downhill. Just a stroke of bad luck, I guess. Regardless I know the general manager will do his best to take care of the issue. There are worst things, I suppose. More embarrassing problems....like when Tri City misspelled "Anniversary" on their 10th year logo a few years back. I'm sure that person was kicking themselves all season.