This weather is so bad ice for this weekend's Labatt Blue Pond Buffalo Hockey Tournament has to be warmed slightly to allow for hockey games.
The event started on ice in the Erie Basin Marina. It's shifted to the RiverWorks complex on Ganson Street with its rinks, a symbol of both the Waterfront and this area's continuing fascination with sliding across ice for sport.
Tournament officials expect 144-teams from Canada and American states as far away as Colorado.
Labatt Brand Manager Lisa Texido says RiverWorks is closer to completion than when the tournament was there last year and it's going to be fun for the thousand-registered players.
"That's the excitement," says Texido, "We have construction going right up until the puck drops. RiverWorks has been a tremendous partner in helping us to put on this event while they are still, honestly, under construction. And, so the ice is ready to go. Players will definitely see even a more enhance experience than they did last year. We have locker rooms that are fully finished this year. The rinks are built out a little bite more. There's actually now a second level mezzanine."
Developer Doug Swift is a partner in RiverWorks. Swift says the complex is far enough along to have room for a very large indoor party and full locker rooms for the players, with plenty of foods and beverages available.
"We are the light at the end of the tunnel getting the facility finished. We've still got probably another six-weeks of real work to do before we're completely operational and everything else. But, our main events floor is probably 90% complete at this point so we have a lot of space to be able to use. The rinks are working great and everything outdoors, the pavilion, is working great."
Swift adds the temperatures have actually been too cold for the ice. "Believe it or not, we're actually having to heat the ice because ice can get too cold," Swift says. "We're not actually heating it, but we have to run the circulating pump in order to bring the temperatures up a little bit because if it gets too cold it gets too brittle and can actually chip off. But that's a good problem to have. The temperature is certainly helping us keep the ice as solid as a rock."
Actual games start at noon tomorrow and run all day and into the night on Saturday and then into the evening on Sunday.
Winner ceremonies are slated for 8pm Sunday.
