BUFFALO, N.Y. — Maintaining the ice down to the 100th of an inch at KeyBank Center comes down to three things, according to head ice technician Andy Chamberlain: the air, refrigeration and surface level.

“And the air is the biggest. As far as what the air does, a lot of people don't understand,” Chamberlain explained. “So there may be complaints if you're sitting in certain areas where the discharge comes out and it's very cold. That helps us. It helps us a lot to maintain once those doors are open, especially when you get into late in the season and in the postseason conditions where it gets more of a contention as you come along. So I guess the biggest explanation is when you feel that cold air coming down, there's a better product that they're skating on for the game that you're here to enjoy because of that cold air.”

Chamberlain spearheads the three-person full-time ice technician department at KeyBank Center that considers themselves at the forefront of ice technology compared to the other 31 NHL rinks around the country. This conclusion comes from their willingness to experiment and invest in cutting-edge tools to make the ice at their hockey-first venue top-tier.

The most revolutionary parts of the department’s current rink routine stem from their two Zamboni ice-resurfacing machines. Firstly, the technicians use a laser system paired with a stationary blade to precisely level the ice at the home of the largest indoor arena in Western New York — up to 1/32nd of an inch per pass.

“Like a construction site, uses the same thing where they level it out with the back, with the bulldozers or backhoes, however they're going about it. It's the same thing here, except that ours makes adjustments with our blades to measure out to hundredths of an inch,” Eric Doering, a seven-year member of Chamberlain’s staff, says of their Level-Ice laser system. “So on a given day for a game day, let's say we're going to try to go to just over inch and a quarter. We set that on the laser and then the laser will automatically adjust our blade to make cuts where needed, and then we add the water in just to level it all up.”

And perhaps most ingenious among the department’s detailed duties came from pure experimentation: as the global spotlight shone in Buffalo for the 2018 World Juniors tournament, rink staff took apart the Zamboni’s three-step process of shaving snow, wash water, then hot water, and split it into a two-part process: wash cut, then hot water. After stellar reviews from tournament officials, it became a mainstay at KeyBank Center.

“So when you come and watch the building, you're going to see our machines will actually go over the ice twice. The first one is the wash cut, which is just to repair and slosh back and fill in some of the ruts. And then we go back over it and give those robots a chance to set up before we put 160-degree water on it,” Doering said. “So that way they have a chance of filling in, setting up a little bit. It gives us a much more consistent and a much better product … The officials raved about how great it was and couldn't believe how well we were able to maintain it throughout the day. And a key for us was it didn't require us to cut a ton [of ice] and still keep as good of a product as we did. So it's just allowed us to open up more options throughout game days for us.”

Another way the staff has modified their Zambonis is by opting to use a spray-mechanism on ice instead of the traditional towel drag, which Doering says allows for quicker set up and heightened efficiency.

With the Sabres regular season over on home ice, the rink will get a much-needed break from heavy skating activity until after the summertime.