My Saturday Night

As the temperature in Winnipeg starts to rise near freezing as opposed to be deep-freeze temperatures, more and more people are getting outside again. I ventured out this evening as I was called into action for a specific duty: timekeeping. I fully understand why timekeepers are important for any game as they keep things orderly when it comes to times on a number of fronts, but I'm not one who usually jumps at an opportunity to sit in the cold for an hour while pressing buttons. However, when a friend called and was desperate for a timekeeper or his game would be cancelled, I layered up for another chilly night in an overly-cooled arena.

Again, I know the importance of timekeepers and how demanding it can be to keep things running on time, specifically if there are games being played after a later-evening game. No one wants to be at the rink until the wee hours of the morning, so keeping things moving keeps everyone happy. It didn't help that the referee for tonight's game was late getting onto the ice, but we finally got the game going a few minutes past the scheduled start time. Consider that a win!

One of the cooler things about the league for which I was keeping time is its use of 12-minute periods as opposed to the full 20-minute periods. Frankly, an extra 24 minutes of hockey tonight would have proved nothing when it came to the final score, but the 12-minute periods seemed to force teams to push the offence a little more. I didn't expect to see a defensive battle by any means, but the shorter periods meant the trailing team had to elevate their pace.

Being that I'm not a timekeeper very often, I have a question for all of you timekeepers who keep the world running. With the job tonight, I was required to fill out the scoresheet when goals were scored and penalties assessed, and that meant that my gloves were off a lot. Being that the rink was cooled to somewhere near -200C, my hands got cold quickly despite me trying to keep my mitts on as often as I could. How on earth do you keep your hands warm when working in a subarctic environment like most arenas?

I'm am completely open to suggestions here because my hands were blocks of ice by the end of the game. While I get that one can use those hand warmers that are sold, I'd be more into something that's reusable. The problem is that there are a ton of different options, and I'd want something reliable. I'm open to suggestions, so feel free to leave a comment below on what you may use or what has worked for you! Having numb hands from the cold isn't fun.

It's late here, though, so I'll let you know that the team that called me in their time of desperation lost tonight's game by an 8-5 score. It was 6-5 late in the third period, but a goal followed by an empty-netter iced the game for the home side. One handshake line and a few laughs between opponents and teammates later, and I was released from my responsibilities to seek heat so my fingers would work again. The car's heating vents were that heat source.

I have full respect for timekeepers who sit in frigid rinks for hours and keep the games moving. While the job isn't overly difficult, the cold certainly sets in quickly. I feel fairly confident in my timekeeping skills after hitting just one wrong button over the course of the game, but I gotta find a way to stay warm if I do this again!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!