Topless in Spokane?

The greatest game on ice might be forced to attempt to become the greatest game on snow when the Spokane Chiefs stage the first outdoor game in North American major junior hockey history Saturday afternoon.

Stories are legendary of hearty Canadian youths playing outdoors in snow and temperatures that would send polar bears scurrying to the nearest fireplace. Truthfully, however, most Canadian hockey players grow up playing most or all of their hockey indoors, just like their American counterparts.

The vast majority of Western Hockey League players, including the Chiefs and the Kootenay Ice (Saturday’s opponent from Cranbrook, British Columbia), are Canadian teen-agers. A California company that specializes in building portable ice rinks will supply all the goodies (artificial ice surface, boards, protective glass, goals, ice-cleaning machines, etc.) necessary to stage the game at Avista Stadium.