AHL's Waterworld

Remember how I said I was done with outdoor games and that the gimmick needed to change? The above picture is from tonight's AHL Outdoor Classic featuring the Bakersfield Condors and the Ontario Reign. Or maybe it should be the Ontario Rain because these two California teams played in what looked like monsoon at times. The scene above came from the second period where it appeared the two teams were playing on a freshly-polished floor as opposed to ice.

If you want to see what the second period's conditions looked like in real-time, Tom Gazzola had the video of what the game looked like as the play progressed.

Start of the 2nd period. pic.twitter.com/VQHPzZZpK2

— Tom Gazzola (@TomGazzola) January 8, 2017

That's ridiculous. Give your heads a shake, AHL, because that's pure lunacy on ice. I have no idea how wet these two teams got, but when you can see the skate marks through the wake of the water, that's a problem. How many fans stuck around for all three periods?

Brady Trettenero showed another interesting feature of tonight's game: free showers for all players!

There is so much rain at the AHL Outdoor Classic tonight that whenever anyone shoots the puck, they also shoot a puddle of water pic.twitter.com/RJ8O72ia2w

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) January 8, 2017

Forget snow showers because every shot produced a shower. This is beyond stupid, but I guess the AHL is like the postal service - through rain, sleet, or snow. The only positive was that the rain subsided and the ice conditions got gradually "better" as the game got closer to the end, but playing in these conditions is one of the reasons why everything about outdoor games is wrong.

While I fully appreciate the teams in the sunbelt wanting to join in on the fun, this is another example for reasons not to have them any longer. While the Condors won this game 3-2 in overtime, I'm pretty sure the hockey would have been infinitely better inside an arena where the conditions are stable and controlled. Complain all you want about my fun-killing views, but I doubt most of you would have stayed in your seats during the torrential downpour.

I'm done with these idiotic games.

Until next time, keep your sticks in the water!