A hole in the ice brought an abrupt end to game three of playoff action between the Sicamous Eagles and the Kamloops Storm Thursday night at the Sicamous and District Recreation Centre.
The two teams were locked at one-all in the third period, with 13 minutes and 24 seconds on the clock, when officials decided to postpone the contest. A hole had developed near the player's box.
Eagles manager Wayne March says the frosty fissure was about a foot long and eight inches wide.
"What we figured is somebody dropped a bottle of Gatorade in the players box, right near the boards… and it seeped down under and got onto the ice and of course, sugar and ice don't mix," said March.
Efforts to seal the hole were unsuccessful. So the Storm is back in Sicamous tonight and the teams will finish off what was started, before beginning game four.
For March it was an unusual way to end a game.
"You didn't lose and you didn't win and you didn't tie," said March. "And in the third period, we were taking it to them pretty good too, because we're a third-period team where they're not. Now we're all fresh to play this 13 minutes, so anything could happen."
The Eagles and the Storm are one and one in the playoffs so far. Sicamous swept a Valentiene's Day contest 5-3 in Kamloops – the day after their Kamloops hosts delivered an 11-2 drubbing.
Game time tonight is 7 p.m.