It was a sunny, cool January morning, and a truck inched its way up Jerome Avenue in the Bronx — far from a rare occurrence.
However, this wasn’t just any truck — it was a 53-foot trailer that contained the equipment necessary to construct an ice rink on the Yankee Stadium field for the NHL’s Stadium Series.
“Hopefully, we’ll be making ice by the 18th,” said NHL official Mike Craig, who will be overseeing the transformation. “Within a few days, we should be ready to go.”
The Stadium Series, the first NHL games ever played at Yankee Stadium, will take place on Sunday, Jan. 26, when the Rangers take on the Devils, and again on Wednesday, Jan. 29, when the Rangers meet the Islanders.
Rangers winger Carl Hagelin says that there won’t be much of an adjustment from playing indoors to going outdoors.
“It’s just like any other game,” Hagelin said Wednesday at the Stadium. “The puck gets a little bit colder, so it bounces around a little bit more, but other than that, you play on your adrenaline and usually you can skate a lot more because it’s fresh air.”
The two-game Stadium Series will be the third and the fourth outdoor NHL games this season, following the Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, Mich. on New Year’s Day and a Jan. 25 game at Dodger Stadium between the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
Craig was in charge of the logistics for the Winter Classic, and had nothing but positive things to say about the holiday showdown between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.
“The Big House, the rink, everything went really well,” he recalled. “We thought the ice was fantastic. Everybody got what they wanted with some snow — might have been a bit too much snow — but I think everything worked out really well there.”
The Winter Classic was played at the University of Michigan’s football stadium, which at present capacity can hold 109,901 people.
Yankee Stadium can hold less than half of that number (50,291), but Craig says that in terms of setting up, there’s no real difference.
“For the most part, our rink build is pretty similar, no matter which stadium or ballpark we go to,” he explained. “Our refrigeration truck setup, our piping setup is a little bit different when you’re here a little bit longer, but as far as building the boards and ice-making, everything’s pretty much the same.”
This is the first time that there will be multiple games at an outdoor venue, and Craig acknowledges it could pose a new set of logistical questions.
“That’s a different one,” he said. “I don’t think that’s going to affect us too much — it’s really just a matter of keeping on top of the weather patterns and making sure we’re able to maintain things where it’s great ice shape out there.
“We have the game on the 26th, and then a couple days with skating, and then the game on the 29th, and then there’s about 10 days’ worth of ice rentals and different other events that are happening. Basically, it’s just a little bit longer for the crew to stay and maintain and be on top of things, really.”
Craig also discussed what kind of weather would be optimal for the game.
“We always ask for some mild [weather], right around freezing,” he said. “If we could get a nice, cloudy day, so no sun, something like that, if we can get a little bit of snow to fall in there just for the effect, that would be great. Anything like that is fantastic.”
It’s sure to be quite the experience for all three teams — an experience that Mats Zuccarello is looking forward to.
“We’re going to try and have some fun out there and enjoy it,” the Rangers right winger said. “At the end of the day, it’s a league game [that] both teams want to win. It’s two teams that are going to go [out] there and have a good experience and have some fun.”