There’s Change in Edmonton Ice

The puck seemed to be jumping all around the SkyReach Centre, baffling the Ducks and Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.

Could it really be that the renowned ice conditions at Edmonton are a thing of the past? Is global warming to blame? Has Edmonton’s ice become as bad as the notoriously poor conditions in Sun Belt rinks like the Arrowhead Pond?

“I think we need to get back to Anaheim to get some good ice,” Duck captain Paul Kariya cracked after the game.

In a more serious tone, he added, “I don’t know why [the ice was so poor]. They’ve always had a hard ice surface here, but tonight it got snowy quick.”

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San Jose Shark defenseman Bryan Marchment on Wednesday served the first game of his three-game suspension for spearing Kariya last Friday.

Marchment told a San Jose newspaper he didn’t do it. He said he got nothing more than Kariya’s jersey on the play, which occurred midway through the third period of the Ducks’ 4-2 victory.

“If I wanted to spear him, he doesn’t get up, let alone play on the power play right after,” Marchment said. “I tried to get my stick on him. I don’t deny that at all. But I didn’t hit bone or skin. I got his jersey.”