When Matt Conti goes to work, he operates an Olympia Millennium ice-resurfacing machine.
Translation: he's the Zamboni guy.
It turns out that Zamboni is merely a company name like "Kleenex" for tissues or "Xerox" for photocopying. The Olympia Millennium ice-resurfacing machine replaced Princeton's old Zamboni three years ago. Still, most people incorrectly refer to all ice-resurfacing machines as Zambonis, and Princeton's is no different.
But whatever you want to call it, there's no denying the importance of the vehicle.
Ice conditions are critical for hockey games. Ice that is too cold may chip too easily, but ice that is too warm might cause players to lose their edge and fall.
The machine resurfaces the ice before every game, during periods and after the game.
The Olympia Millennium weighs nearly 8,000 pounds — four tons — when it is full of water and can travel at a top speed of 20 miles per hour. Each snow tire has studs to grip the ice and the Olympia has a Chevy 4.8-liter V-8 engine.
The biggest difference between driving a car and driving the ice-resurfacer is the fact that one is driving on a sheet of ice. That, combined with the fact that the driver's seat and controls are located behind the rear axle, four feet above the ice, takes some getting used to.
"It's like driving a jeep while sitting on the spare tire carrier," explains Conti, who learned to drive the machine prior to coming to Princeton.
The Olympia scrapes a fraction of an inch layer of ice off the surface, gathers the shaved ice, blasts water into the grooves in the ice to remove debris, squeegees the remaining water and vacuums it up. Lastly, warm water is spread out evenly over the ice, softening and evening out the ice.
Girls Go Crazy
Conti, a lifelong hockey player himself, came to work at Princeton's Baker Rink in November of 1994 after working at a nearby rink in Hamilton, NJ for two years.
"I had been playing hockey my whole life, so I was very familiar with the surroundings," Conti said.
Today, Conti is part of a four-man ice crew that takes care of Baker Rink every winter — the other members are Don Pfau, Jeff Durepos and Paul Merrow.
During hockey season, the four-man team is responsible for the care of both the building and the ice surface. This encompasses ensuring that the seating area is presentable, keeping an eye on both the building temperature and the skating surface temperature, and making sure that the playing surface is level.
Due to the universally acknowledged fact that girls go crazy over Zamboni drivers, one would think that it would be very difficult to figure out driving privileges for each game. Wrong.
"We've got a fairly simple plan for who gets to drive," Conti said. "We'll rock, paper, scissors for the first game. After that, it depends on whether you've won or not. If you win, you keep driving — you lose, and it's time for the next guy."
Out of season, each member of the Baker Rink team has other sporting venues to care for. The Princeton grounds crew is a nine-man team that watches over all of the athletic buildings and fields on campus including the Class of '52 stadium, Jadwin Gym, Denunzio Pool, the West Windsor fields and the Poe/Pardee fields.
Conti presides over the varsity playing fields for the rest of the year.
"I'm personally responsible for the care and cultivation of the turf for our varsity fields," Conti said. "I'm the turf guy."
But Conti makes it clear that the benefits of his job run far deeper than a sheet of ice.
"I'd honestly say that the best perk is being able to interact with the student athletes," Conti said. "The people I've met while working here are some of the most down-to-earth people I know."
The first player Conti met upon arrival at Baker Rink was Erasmo Saltarelli, a freshman goalie at the time. Saltarelli, a Princeton net-minder from 1994-1998, ended up being one of the greatest goaltenders in school history. Over the years, Conti has befriended countless athletes at Baker Rink.
"I like to think that I've made some friends with some students over the course of time," Conti said. Besides, it's not all work for the Baker Rink ice crew. They have been known to venture to the Street on Thursday and Saturday nights.
"Just like a lot of other people," Conti said. "I can't remember my best night on the Street!"
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