Hole in ice halts Chiefs, Americans
Unsafe conditions force officials to end game
KENNEWICK – Another Toyota recall.
This one didn’t involve sticking gas pedals or balky brakes. It was more elementary than that: ice that wouldn’t stay frozen.
A hole in the ice in front of the Tri-City bench in the Toyota Center produced unsafe conditions and forced officials to end the Spokane Chiefs’ Western Hockey League game against Tri-City 2:35 into the second period Friday.
Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz said, “we won’t put the safety of the players at risk.”
He said the hole was 3-4 inches deep, and down to the concrete.
Speltz said there apparently had been a problem before Christmas, but the Americans thought it had been corrected.
There was a short delay to fill the hole in the first period, but it resurfaced in the second period. The game was delayed nearly an hour while officials worked to get it corrected.
Speltz said he would begin working with the Americans and the WHL to reschedule the game and hoped to have an announcement early next week.
The game was called tied 1-1. Kruise Reddick scored for Tri-City at 46 seconds and Brady Brassart answered at 7:38.