“Another season, another big turnover with our team, but I like our team," Everblades head coach Brad Ralph said. "We’re as strong as we’ve ever been. Now we just have to put it all together and chase that fourth.”
The chase for four straight Kelly Cup titles is on! The Everblades are about to begin preseason practices, with their first games just around the corner.
It was just four months ago when the Everblades won their third straight and fourth overall ECHL championship. Fast forward, and the reigning champs are about to take the ice again. However, before they can do that, the ice needs to be made.
The ice crew at Hertz Arena has been hard at work this week turning the main rink from a cold grey slab of concrete into the Everblades' home. The process of remodeling the 200x85 foot rectangle takes two full days and is spearheaded by Hertz Arena Operations Manager Andrew Whatley.
“It’s definitely fun," Whatley said. "It’s something different, something unique.”
The process begins with 500 gallons of water for a base layer of ice. From there, they add another 300 gallons, with white paint mixed in to give the rink its usual backdrop. Then, 1,000 gallons of water are added to seal it off. That is just the start, though. Only about a quarter of an inch of ice is made from all of that water.
Once that first layer is built up, the ice crew begins to lay down yarn, crisscrossing the entire rink to measure and lay down the goal lines, blue lines, center line, and more. They then begin painting all of those lines using the yarn as guidelines. The only things they don't paint are the logos. They use printed cloths for sponsors, the center circle, and the iconic Everblades red line. The center circle is the hardest. It comes in five individual pieces that must be lined up seamlessly and then iced over so it doesn't move.
The final step is the longest — they flood the rink with 10,000 gallons of water to make just one inch of ice.
“It’s not easy in this climate, obviously, to produce quality ice," Ralph said. "The guys pay a lot of attention to it, and that’s what it takes.”
Last season, the ice crew hid a one-dollar bill below the ice that they wrote "3-peat" on. After the Everblades won their third straight title, they dug it up while celebrating. When asked if they were going to do something similar this season, Whatley said it hadn't been done, yet.
After all of that hard work, Hertz Arena is ready to go for the Everblades. However, the ice crew isn't done. The rink loses about a quarter of an inch of ice each game. So, Whatley and his team are constantly re-flooding the rink and making sure the ice is ready to go for the champs.
“It brightens up the building, and it certainly lets us all know that hockey is back," Ralph said.
The Everblades take the new ice for their first practice on Monday, Oct. 7.