NHL will eliminate dry scrape of ice surface before overtime

The NHL will eliminate the "dry scrape" between the end of the third period and the beginning of overtime, the league announced Tuesday. The league's general managers voted Tuesday to do away with the process.  

Beginning this season, the Zambonis would resurface the ice without water before the start of the overtime period. The league believed it could reduce the number of games which were forced to go to a shootout by providing a better playing surface during overtime, making it easier to score goals. 

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Fans and media members were critical of the dry scrape, saying it disrupted the momentum of the game.

"The feeling in there was the dry scrape is a buzzkill," Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland said, according to NHL.com. "It is just taking too long to get from the end of the game back to playing, so we're going to use people to shovel the ice, try within 90 seconds to two minutes to get back up and playing."

The new policy will be in effect starting Saturday. 

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- Dan Gartland