Summer chill: Arizona Coyotes lay ice ahead of camp, season

PHOENIX — The mercury may be hovering above 100 degrees outside, but things are already getting chilly inside the home of the Arizona Coyotes.

The team began laying ice Monday ahead of its upcoming training camp and National Hockey League season.

“Rookie camp starts up here on Sept. 11, then the big boys come to play Sept. 17,” Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney said. “We’re excited to get started.”

Installing the ice is a process. First, a base layer is added followed by white paint. A second sheet of ice follows and then the familiar logos and rink layout are painted on.

That moment when the rink is transformed @ArizonaCoyotes @FOXSPORTSAZ #hockey pic.twitter.com/YY1EsW5elp

— Rusty Francisco (@Cisco_Russ) August 31, 2015

Maloney said seeing the ice is like Christmas coming early. But after last season, when the team finished as one of the worst in the league, it could be a question of the Coyotes’ stocking holding a new pair of skates or a lump of coal.

“Last year was an unmitigated disaster, so (we want) to just wipe that out and start fresh,” he said. “This is just the beginning of that.”

The Coyotes are scheduled to open their season Oct. 9 with a date on the road against the division rival Los Angeles Kings. The team will play its first home game of the season the following night, Oct. 10, against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

KTAR’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.

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