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Equipment
A rink has a rectangular ice surface that is 61 m long and 30m wide (in the NHL - 26m). It is surrounded by a hard wood or plastic wall, which is painted white, and about 1.2 m high. At each end of the ice rink, there is a steel red-painted goal, which is 1.83m wide by 1.22m high. For players' safety, the goal is moored to the ice with flexible pegs so it can be moved. Each corner of the rink is curved - 7 -8.5m radius. Artificial ice arenas work like a home refrigerator. Under the ice surface, there is a slap of concrete with a set of pipes running through it. The pipes are filled with a chilled fluid like ammonia whose temperature is about -33C. Rink preparation usually takes several days. First, the concrete floor is cooled down till it is frosted, and then water is sprayed in tiny droplets that fall down on the concrete floor evenly, turning into ice. The ice surface is very thin (a few cm); otherwise its upper part would be too soft and watery, which would make the game difficult.
For maintenance, after the ice has been used, it is resurfaced by a machine, resurfacer. It is a truck-like vehicle, which is used to clean and smooth the surface. Cleaning and polishing of the ice is performed before the start of each new period. Shatterproof glass fixed atop the boards keeps the puck in play and protects spectators. They are 1.6 - 2 m high (behind the goals) and 0.8 - 1.2 m (along the sides). On one side of the rink there are benches for players of both teams. The maximum length of two benches is 12m and they are 4 m apart. They have two doors (one onto the neutral zone). On the other side of the ice rink, there are two penalty boxes (separated by a judge bench). The bench in the penalty box should be long enough sit 5 players. The rink is marked with red and blue lines. The red line and two blue lines are 30 cm wide.
See also
- Ice Hockey
- Game stop
- Rules
- Red line
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