Arena gets chilly makeover for big clash

The Canadian and US ice hockey teams are greeted with a powhiri. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Two international ice hockey teams have arrived with their dentists for this weekend's sporting showdown.

Vector Arena has been transformed into an icy battleground for tomorrow's International Ice Hockey match between the United States and Canada.

Promoter Craig Douglas said the two teams arrived yesterday morning to "a big reception at the airport, with hundreds of fans there and a traditional Maori welcome".

Each team of 30 players was accompanied by a coach, a doctor, a sports doctor, a physio and a dentist, he said.

Last night, the teams relaxed at their hotels after flying for up to 36 hours to get here.They will take to the ice today.

"The players will go and practise at Paradice Ice arena in the afternoon, and they will get a site recce of [Vector] arena so they can get used to the surroundings. Tomorrow night they head up to Snow Planet," said Mr Douglas.

The teams are in the city until next Thursday, when they travel to to Christchurch.

Their itinerary includes sky-diving, a hangi and bungee-jumping.

"We attracted these guys to New Zealand because of New Zealand, not because of hockey," said

Mr Douglas, who had been at Vector Arena since Tuesday to help turn the facility into a sports stadium.

"The rink that we have is brand new, it's a $4.3 million structure."

It took more than 36 hours to transform the centre into an ice rink, he said.

Mr Douglas said he had been organising this event for three years and tomorrow night, his "dream" would become become a reality.

The 10,400 fans could expect to see a vicious match between two feuding captains, he said.

"The two captains are not on good terms. They used to be friends, but they're here to win.

"It's the fastest team sport. The players are travelling up to 40 miles an hour (60km/h) on the ice. When they hit a puck, it travels at 180km/h hour.

"People can expect to see a lot of speed, a lot of excitement, a fair amount of aggression and adrenaline."

He said 300 tickets to the event were left. Prices range from $131.98 to $203.58.

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