Just as a new season of hockey begins, a new series of updates and changes have come to the center ice archive. Here is an overview of the changes.
Center Ice Database.
We have migrated the entire site to a new database which gives us a little more flexibility on sorting and filtering. The first thing you will notice is that there is a separate thumbnail (and corresponding ice page) for every season, regardless of whether there were any changes to the center ice design.
Why did we make this change? We wanted to have a more accurate historical representation of center ice designs. When a team uses the same ice for 10 years, you will see that represented in the thumbnails. This also allows us to have one full rink per page, and every ice will now get its own 3D rink. Please note this will take some time.
If you prefer the old view of only seeing thumbnails for each unique center ice design, we have you covered! Just click on the far right drop-down and switch from "All Thumbnails" to "Only Unique Thumbnails". This will only show the first season that a specific center ice design was used. This will allow you to quickly see what season a specific change was made.
We also now have a filter for center line designs. You can now check out every ice with a specific red line pattern.
Thumbnail Page View
At first glance, you may not notice much difference in the thumbnail pages, but once you hover over an ice graphic, you will be presented with a few new look.
In addition to the full rink preview, you also get a preview of the 3D rink graphic if one is available. (Eventually, every ice will have a 3D rink).
Rink Page View
You can now view a closer version of the center ice without the skate marks.
We are always looking to improve the site and add more rinks. Keep us bookmarked and check back often for more updates.