Don Moffatt, the ice master for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games arenas in Milan, says that he is happy with the playing surface, less than four weeks out from the start of play.
Moffatt made comments one day after a test game at the arena was paused for several minutes after a hole developed on the ice surface.
In a statement provided by the local organizing committee, Moffatt said:
“After these two competition days, we’re very happy and satisfied with the field of play. A hockey rink is constantly taken care of and managed with competency and great professionalism. When we’re speaking of new ice that hasn’t been skated on yet, it’s normal that it responds with cracks, which can also be caused by the ice resurfacer.
“On a first occasion, many holes may happen, but here, the ice has been good, and only one occurred that was two cm wide. We filled it right away and at the end of the period, we passed on it with the ice resurfacer. It was solid by the start of the second period.
“We’re very satisfied because these are minor details and in line with the usual process.”
Don Moffatt, the ice master at the Milan Olympic arenas, says in a statement provided by the local organizing committee that he's "happy and satisfied" with the surface so far. He says the hole that appeared during last night's game was "in line with the usual process." pic.twitter.com/hsCHJnmJks
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 10, 2026
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston was in attendance and called the venue “very much a work in progress.”
“There’s some good and bad there. Walking into the arena for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised by some of what I saw. They had a couple of thousand fans in for what was the first-ever test event played here on Friday night. That was pretty good,” Johnston said.
“The not so good is that there’s still a construction site. There’s a lot of work left to be done on this arena. The biggest issue with this rink is that the test event is being held four weeks before the Olympics start. Typically, you’d want this to be sooner.
“I’d say there’s a lot of good there, but there are a lot of concerns about how much time there is left to finish this rink off.”
The first game scheduled at the venue is set for Feb. 5 between the hosts and France in women’s action. Canada’s women also open their tournament on Feb. 5, but don’t play at the Santagiulia Arena until Feb. 10 against the United States.
The Canadian men will play all three of their round-robin games at the Santgiulia beginning on Feb. 12 against Czechia. The arena will also host the medal round and final set for Feb. 22.
