THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE’S MINNESOTA WILD lost most of their game equipment Friday afternoon when the truck carrying it caught on fire in the parking lot of the Ottawa, Ontario, Scotiabank Place arena. The team had held its morning practice skate at another rink in Ottawa and the van had transported all of their gear back to the Scotiabank Place in preparation for Saturday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators. The Associated Press is reporting:
The team added that its game against Ottawa on Saturday would be played as scheduled, and according to the Wild’s Web site, assistant equipment manager Brent Proulx was to return to Minnesota to retrieve new equipment.
A plane scheduled to carry the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks home after their game at Cleveland on Friday night will take Proulx and two assistants back to Minnesota. The trio will then accompany the gear to Ottawa on Saturday morning.
via TheScore.com
Particularly difficult for the players is the loss of their personal equipment. All of the goaltender’s equipment was destroyed and it normally takes weeks to break-in a new piece of padding. Items that need special fitting such as knee braces and skates are not easily replaced, either. Canoe News reports:
Firefighters said the van was pulling into the players’ parking area near the loading dock at about 2:30 p.m. when someone noticed smoke coming from the back.
The doors were opened and there was a fire “roaring pretty good,” said district fire chief Monty Malloy. “It destroyed all the equipment, all the players’ equipment.”
The Wild isn’t sure how the fire started, although police said it appears to be accidental. (The) van was initially inside the arena, but quickly taken outside when the fire was noticed. They were trying to use a hose hooked up at the loading dock to put out the flames. Firefighters arrived five minutes later and doused the blaze.
The Wild has been on a roll lately and is 10-2-1 in their last 13 games.
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