The first test event at the arena to be used for ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics hit a very early snag on Friday.
According to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, who is in attendance at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, the game had to be postponed after a “giant hole in the ice” appeared during play.
The matchup between Kaltern Caldaro Rothoblaas and HCMV Varese Hockey in the Coppa Italia semifinals was paused as arena staff brought out a watering can to try to help patch the hole.
The trouble at the rink occurs just days after IIHF President Luc Tardif admitted that parts of the arena might not be fully finished on time, but the playing surface, practice facilities, and locker rooms would be ready when the puck drops for the men’s event on February 11.
“We can be confident on that,” Tardif said Monday. “You’re not going to go to Milano for nothing.”
According to CNN, Tardif added that the main arena will not be “exactly” what was expected in terms of capacity, with the number of seats set at 11,800, instead of the 12,000 initially reported.
Last month, the IIHF confirmed that the ice surface at the arena will be shorter than NHL-regulation size. Games will be played on rinks measuring 196.85 by 85.3 feet, while regular NHL dimensions are 200 by 85 feet.
News of the size difference came as a surprise to participating players and, perhaps more importantly, to the NHL commissioner’s office, with deputy commissioner Bill Daly telling Johnston that he only found out about the issue shortly before the rest of the world. Daly later noted that NHL participation could even be at risk if the surface were deemed too dangerous.
“If the players feel that the ice is unsafe to play, then we’re not going to play,” Daly said. “It’s as simple as that.”
NHL players have previously competed on international-sized rinks at the Olympics, but the agreement among the league, NHLPA, and the International Olympic Committee specified an NHL-sized rink for the 2026 Games. The NHL last sent players to the Olympics for the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.
The men’s ice hockey tournament will start with preliminary games on February 11, with the gold-medal game scheduled for February 22.
