Rob Cornelius wrote:
> [...]
>         Could someone in the Cincinnati area please explain who was
> responsible for the ice problems today? Was it a simple equipment failure
> in pipes or cooling, or was the ice made poorly?  [...]
 
Well I'm not from Cincinnati, but I did hear the interview with Rick
Comley about what happened.  (I believe the interview was between the
3rd period and the first OT.)  Note this is all from memory, as I
didn't tape any of the between period features.
 
The problem started after the final ice resurfacing before the game
was supposed to start when the ice crew was pounding in one of the posts
to hold the net in place.  It hit and broke one of the pipes carring
brine (salt water), which is what runs directly under the ice to cool it.
(ESPN2 originally reported that it was a freon leak, then corrected themselves
later.)  The brine immediately started flooding the rink (since it is
pumped through the pipes).  The cooling system was shut off, and the
leak was plugged with a quarter and gum (if I remember right).
 
However, this "plug" would not be able to hold with the pumps running
again, so the cooling system had to remain shut off for the whole game.
This is what caused the deteriorating ice conditions.  The ice temperature
at the start of the game was 11 degrees.  By the end of the second period,
it had risen to 22, so from that point on no additional water was put
on when the ice was resurfaced (the Zamboni blades just shaved down the
ridges).  Since the temperature kept going up, the ice conditions only
got worse from there.  The second OT period was going to be divided into
two 10 minute halves, with the ice being resurfaced again at the 10
minute mark had CC not scored when they did.  (I won't even get into
that controversy here! :-)
 
Between games, the pipe was repaired.  The delay starting the second game
was waiting for the ice temperature to come back down to the point where
the surface would freeze again.
 
In restrospect, I'm not that suprised that something like this could happen,
given that the goal lines had to be moved to meet the NCAA standard of 15
feet.  Thus, the pegs had to be put at a different place than "usual", and
then Murphy's law came into play.  :-(
 
Hope the explanation is helpful.
 
- Garrett
 
--
Garrett Lanzy        Endicott, NY
 
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