Former Buffalo Sabres goalie Martin Biron and Toronto Maple Leafs captain Wendel Clark were on hand to greet the 53-foot trailer, the world's largest mobile refrigeration unit, which will be used to create an NHL-caliber sheet of the ice for the Sabres and Maple Leafs to play on at the home of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League on March 13 (4 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS, NHL LIVE).
Capacity for the game will be more than 24,000 at the stadium nicknamed "The Donut Box," which is open at each end zone, making it conducive to gusty conditions. It's an environment Clark said he plans on taking advantage of to support the Maple Leafs, the organization for which he now serves as an ambassador.
"I've been talking to the ice crew behind Marty's back, and it's going to be the first stadium hockey rink built with a little bit of a turnstile," Clark said with a laugh. "So we'll be playing downwind in all three periods."
The temperature in Hamilton on March 13 is expected to be 18 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and dip down to 3 degrees at night, so ice conditions should not be an issue. Wind, however, could be.
"We'll take some extra precautions while putting up the glass and the boards and building the rink," said Mike Craig, NHL senior manager of facilities operations and hockey operations. "You have to make sure everything is secure. When it comes to the game time, we'll definitely be paying attention to those factors during play. And then we'll have our hockey operations group here with the teams in deciding what steps need to be taken there.
"I know we're all excited to be here in Ontario, excited to get things going here, get a sense of normalcy back into the area. As far as the stadium goes, we'll definitely be paying attention to the sunlight, when the sun comes up, sun goes down, as far as the rink build goes.
"It's going to be exciting."
Given the proximity between Toronto and Buffalo, that comes as no surprise.
Hamilton, a port city situated on the western edge of Lake Ontario, is roughly halfway between the two cities along the Queen Elizabeth Way highway, a stretch known as "The Golden Horseshoe" for the way the land hooks around the lake. Scotiabank Arena, the home of the Maple Leafs, is 43 miles from Tim Hortons Field. KeyBank Center, the home of the Sabres, is 62 miles away.
"It's always electric when the Leafs come to Buffalo, and yeah, you noticed as a player how many of their fans were in our building," Biron said. "It just gave you more incentive to want to beat them.
"This time there will be plenty of our fans here in Hamilton. It's going to be an amazing atmosphere."
