By Randy Boswell A team of Canadian climate scientists is
predicting the widespread disappearance of outdoor hockey rinks
across the country in the next 50 years due to global warming —
with some regions of the sport’s spiritual birthplace likely to
witness an even earlier eclipse of old-time shinny on natural
ice. “The ability to skate and play hockey outdoors is a
critical component of Canadian identity and culture,” three
researchers from Montreal’s McGill and Concordia universities
write in the latest issue of the U.K.-based scholarly journal
Environmental Research Letters. “Wayne Gretzky learned to skate
on a backyard skating rink; our results imply that such
opportunities may not be available to future generations of
Canadian children.” The scientists — Nikolay Damyanov and
Lawrence Mysak of McGill and Concordia’s Damon Matthews —
tracked historical temperature trends recorded since 1951 at 142
meteorological stations in every corner of the country. They
also interviewed outdoor icemakers in Quebec and