PostedJuly 27, 2022, 8:59 PM
The city authorities invoke ecological and economic reasons to justify this decision, which puts the local hockey club in difficulty when preparing for the season.
Every year, those who are not particularly ice hockey fans are surprised to see the season start so early, namely in mid-September. But this recovery is being prepared well in advance and, on the side of HC Sierre, things are looking rather bad. Indeed, the municipality of Sierre has decided to delay the production of ice cream at the Graben ice rink by ten days, citing economic and ecological reasons, reports “The Newbie”. Quoted by the daily, the municipal councilor responsible for sport considers it “unacceptable” to produce ice when it is 36 degrees outside and the cost of energy is rising. But he assures that the ice rink will be ready on August 12, the day when HC Sierre must receive Lausanne for its first preparation match.
On the club side, we prefer to wait until next week before making a decision about this meeting. Because the next few days, which were to allow the players of the Swiss League team (2nd division) to train twice a day on the ice, may not be as profitable as expected. Indeed, it was in Brig that HC Sierre found a fallback solution. But the ice rink being very busy, only one daily session can be scheduled there. Officials also regret that the juniors, who were also to start preparing for their season next week, are also deprived of this opportunity.