Mike Craig, senior manager of facilities operations/hockey operations for the NHL, led the second part of the tour. Craig brought the students outside of the stadium to see the Ice Plant, the 53-foot, 300-ton capacity refrigeration unit that removes heat from the surface and stabilizes the temperature of the ice.
Craig also showed students some of the smaller details: the hoses that Craig and his crew will use to flood the rink about 200 times to create a perfect sheet of ice, a roll of blue fabric that will be frozen into the ice to create the blue line, hockey goal pegs and one of the nets that will be used in the game.
There wasn't any ice on the field for the children to see Wednesday; Craig said the crew will begin making ice Thursday. But the kids nevertheless received a special treat. When concluding the tour at field level, Craig asked the children if they'd like to come back for a game. After getting a rousing positive reaction, Craig unveiled the big surprise: two tickets for each student to the 2019 Bridgestone Winter Classic. The announcement was met with several gasps.
"It's great," Craig said. "I have kids very similar ages and it's fun to show them around a little bit. There were some good questions in there, and really [it's] just to show them how everything works. There's a lot of work that goes into this, and it's just a great afternoon with them."
Funston Elementary students received a unique behind-the-scenes look at how ice is created for the NHL's outdoor games. On Jan. 1, they'll get to see the finished product.
"They'll be talking about it forever," Dufford said. "Every field trip I've been on with them, they think it's the greatest thing in the world. They like to tell the kids back at school to make them jealous, so they love it."
