For tonight's first pre-season game vs Buffalo at Penn State, the Sabres......presumably because they're playing at owner Terry Pegula's alma mater, and he wants his team to put on a good show.....are playing much of their full Pro roster including Jack Eichel, Evander Kane, Jason Pominville, Matt Moulson, and Zach Bogosian. The only roster guys the Pens are reportedly sending to State College are Archibald, Hagelin, Hunwick, Maatta, Niemi, and Rust.
I presume the Pens' first (or next) pre-season game where you'll see something more resembling their Pro roster will be the Kraft Hockeyville USA game this Sunday night versus St Louis in Belle Vernon PA......which won't be played in Belle Vernon after all. The Rostraver Ice Gardens in Belle Vernon.....as did the Johnstown barn 2 years ago.....was the recipient of $150K in improvements in winning this Hockeyville 2017 promotion. Here's how the Pitt Trib Review described them:
Among the biggest improvements are the new LED lights in the arena, new lobby flooring, new Zamboni controls, locker room renovations and upgrades to the cooling system.
The lights — increased in number from 32 to 64 — now shine down on a large Kraft Hockeyville logo in the center of the rink.
The system's candle power is more appropriate for hockey games, Murphy said. “It is beautiful, and it no longer hums,” he said.
The upgrades, which exceed the $150,000 prize for winning the contest, also include: new protective netting for spectators, a new kick plate around the base of the rink, new banners on the lobby side of the arena, new manifold piping under the floor and new piping for one of the older compressors.
Improvements to the Zamboni include installation of the Level-Ice Laser Leveling System, designed to ensure a uniform ice cut, he said.
“Keeping the ice at the same level reduces the run time on the compressors,” he explained.
The Ice Garden emerged as the winner of the Kraft Hockeyville contest after three rounds of online voting in the spring. The third and final round on April 24-25 pitted the historic facility against the Bloomington (Minn.) Ice Garden.
Contest officials said Rostraver was one of more than 1,300 communities across the country — accounting for nearly two of every three rinks nationwide — that submitted stories demonstrating their passion for hockey.
Although the title included the chance to host the Penguins in the preseason, the game against the St. Louis Blues will instead be played at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Butler County, at 8 p.m. Sunday.
Kraft Hockeyville officials said in August that the Rostraver Ice Garden was “not equipped at this time” to host an NHL preseason game but did not offer specifics.
Not sure exactly what "not equipped" to host an NHL preseason game is supposed to mean; from what I can tell, those details are being held
very close to the vest by both Kraft.....who I assume isn't at all pleased (and probably downright embarrassed) their awarded building won't be part of the NBCSN telecast......and the Ice Gardens itself. With unspecified locker room improvements said to be part of the package, you'd think the pros could find a way to deal with them for one lousy evening.
If so, then I'm sort-of leaning toward thinking the issue might be the building's basic infrastructure may simply be incapable of accommodating a full-scale televised broadcast......though I'd think if power was a problem, the network could manage shortages via generators in their production trailers.
You're our electrical expert, t......what say you about that notion ??
