![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\nThe IIHF on Monday confirmed the different size was in place in Milan without explaination.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they are consistent with IIHF regulations, match the rink size used at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and are fully consistent with the dimensions the NHL requires as part of its Global Series Game arena specifications,\u201d the federation said. \u201cAll involved, the IIHF, the Organizing Committee, NHL, NHLPA, IOC and the relevant venue authorities agree that the differences in rink specifications are insignificant, and should not impact either the safety or quality of game play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olympic hockey had been played on international ice of 60 by 30 meters (196.85 by 98.4 feet) in 1998, 2006 and 2014, with a slight variation in Salt Lake City in 2002. It was played on NHL-sized ice in Vancouver in 2010 because of the existing arenas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the same for every team, and I think that\u2019s the bottom line,\u201d Finland men\u2019s hockey general manager Jere Lehtinen told The Associated Press. \u201cOur coaches, maybe it\u2019s more interesting and something you need to pay attention more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canada general manager Doug Armstrong first brought up the ice being slightly off from NHL regulation size on a podcast in early September and then discussed it again in October. National federations have been aware of the specs for quite some time; Canada assistant coach Peter DeBoer broached the topic recently on a radio show, raising questions about why it\u2019s not NHL-sized ice.<\/p>\n
The ice dimensions will be the same in both hockey arenas in February: the main arena that is still being built and the smaller, temporary venue that is situated inside an exhibition center.<\/p>\n
Construction at the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena \u2014 the new, 16,000-seat venue on the outskirts of Milan \u2014 is going down to the wire<\/a> and organizers told The AP that there was \u201cno plan B.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n A test event had to be moved to the Rho Ice Hockey Arena and new test events at the main venue aren\u2019t scheduled until Jan. 9-11, less than a month before the first puck is dropped. Workers on Friday were still putting the finishing touches to the venue in Rho, just three days before the start of the IIHF Group B Under 20 World Championship that will serve as a test event.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re aware that they\u2019re behind schedule a little bit, but we\u2019re all assuming that that\u2019ll all be taken care of,\u201d Canada men\u2019s assistant coach Bruce Cassidy said last week. <\/p>\n NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has brought up logistics concerns repeatedly. At the league\u2019s annual fall Board of Governors meeting<\/a> in October, he said: \u201cWe are constrained in what we can and can\u2019t do, request and demand and if it reached a certain point, we\u2019ll have to deal with it. But I\u2019m not speculating, and we\u2019ve been constantly assured by the IOC and the IIHF that it will be OK.\u201d<\/p>\n