Freezing an ice rink for an ice hockey series

Three locations, two days, one ice rink. That was the game plan when New Zealand hosted the American and Canadian Ice Hockey series. The series was held at three locations with two days’ access at each to freeze the mobile rink and thaw it out again at the end of the match.

The event organisers were looking for a partner who could supply rapid chilling and thawing. The job required precision timing and an experienced technical team to have the rink ready for the opening face-off at each game.

To freeze the ice in the short time we had, we used two 600 kW air-cooled fluid chillers set at -12°C. These were linked with flexible hosing that circulated propylene glycol. The humidity was strictly controlled to avoid indoor moisture from melting the water as fast as we chilled it.

Knowing we were dealing with immovable deadlines, our technicians moved in to dismantle the rink and thaw the ice minutes after the last puck had been hit. It was a fast but controlled process that avoided flooding the venue as the ice thawed, and readied the rink for transport to the next venue.

Thanks to our experience in chilling ice rinks to exact requirements we had the ice rink frozen and ready for face-off at 7pm at each of the three locations. 

We smoothed the way to make this sporting event, dubbed the ‘Cold War’ by promoters, an outstanding success. The large enthusiastic crowds and cheerleaders at all three arenas weren’t disappointed, and the event organisers were delighted that there were no cancellations and no financial or reputational loss to the company.