RIP Heckler From Hell #2 Kevin Gadker

The sad news has come that 37 year old Cyclones superfan Kevin Gadker, AKA Heckler from Hell, AKA "Human Siren" has passed away after a massive stroke.

Sometimes controversial but always entertaining, he was an early fixture upon the Cyclones' return to ECHL.  He joined the US Army to help support himself and his family, so we haven't seen as much of him since then but his dedication to the Cyclones never waned.

Thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Nice to know you, Heckler. Thank you for your service to our country. Rest in peace, amigo.

Heckler from Hell Article on Metromix

More On Icemaking

The circus had a show at US Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon, March 20. The circus had to completely load out, all the dirt had to be removed by Bobcats and dump trucks. The concrete floor had to be cleaned with squeegee trucks and all the hockey glass reinstalled. All this before calling it quits Sunday night.

Then Monday at 0700 the icemaking process began. A thin coat of clear, white paint, clear, then line and logo painting. This went on until Tuesday evening at about 11:00 PM.

Remember, icemaking is a NON-STOP process. If it frosts, air will be trapped inside and create unwanted insulation effect.

After the maintenance crew spent over 40 straight hours painting in the lines and sealing them in clear, I rolled in to take the next wave overnight of Zamboni flooding. Here are some pics of the crew guys finishing up:

Hose crew, keeps the hose off the ice or at least moving so it doesn't melt into the ice and destroy the work:


Notice in the top-left the guy with the brown jacket, "Breezy," handling the misting wand:

Closer view of Breezy on the Wand:

New in-ice graphics for the fundraiser night for the Northern Kentucky Child Advocacy Center:

Once last picture of Breezy on the wand. They did 10 clear water wand passes over the paint before I started on the Zamboni. More wanding is better, technically, and makes for more clear ice but we barely had 72 hours from circus dirt to hockey practice. No time for ultimate perfection but it still came out really well.

Final product, center ice logo, this time with the full Cyclones text under the logo:


I'll let this settle for a few days and then add pics of the setup for Smucker's Stars On Ice.