This NHL season more than ever, it's jackets time at Nationwide Arena.
Not to mention hats, gloves and maybe a wool blanket.
Hockey fans are feeling the effects of a decision to lower by several degrees -- from 62 to about 58 -- the game-time temperature inside the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The National Hockey League recommends an arena temperature of 58 to 60 degrees when doors first open. Nationwide is one of six NHL arenas to turn down the thermostat this season, league spokesman Jamey Horan said.
The move, sought by the players' union and supported by the league, is meant to improve the quality and hardness of the ice. The cooler air also keeps players fresher longer.
"We get feedback from the team and players -- they want to feel that coldness on their face," said Eric Granger, general manager of Nationwide Arena. "If it were up to the players, it would be 50 degrees."
Nationwide's ice quality, Granger said, is rated in the top third by NHL officials. He called the temperature change subtle but acknowledged that "People are feeling it."
Right in the back of the neck, said season-ticket holder Michael Berry.
"It's a constant breeze, and it's really cool," said the Northwest Side resident, huddled with daughter Myra in their lower-bowl seats for the game Friday night against the St. Louis Blues.
"It can be kind of annoying, especially if (the team's) not doing well. Then you're really cold."
The change, arena workers said, has prompted a shift in patron spending.
Souvenir peddler Tina Swary said her kiosk recently added $3 knit gloves after people started asking for them. And vendor Connie Sass said more fans are drinking coffee and hot chocolate.
Spectator Cheryl Mills has embraced all that -- and anyone sitting near her -- in an effort to keep warm.
"Oh, I'm cold," she said, sporting gloves and earmuffs as she sipped hot coffee, a Jackets blanket draped over her legs.
Her husband, William, wearing long underwear, just chuckled. Avid hockey fans, they both said that things could be worse.
"You should go to an OSU hockey game (at the Schottenstein Center) if you think this is cold," she said. "I've been known to stand in front of the hot-air blower in the women's restroom."
Most fans insisted that the big chill becomes less noticeable as the game wears on. A full arena tends to warm itself, what with spectator body heat and fewer breezes blowing through empty seats. Fan reaction to a blown call by officials never hurts, either.
There's nothing like a "W," though, to chase the chill. After the Jackets prevailed 6-4 over the Blues, Mrs. Mills was doing a victory jig in the aisle.
"A win always makes you feel better; it gets the adrenaline going."
jsheban@dispatch.com
