00:03Things are going from bad to worse for the Canberra Brave.
00:06We always like a little bit of tension in our lives, so we're very close.
00:09This time cutting it too close.
00:12With more than 3,000 spectators set to step through the doors of the AIS arena
00:17for the Braves' first home game tomorrow night against the Sydney Ice Dogs,
00:21organisers have had to pull the plug.
00:23They were already racing against the clock to be ready for the game.
00:27When it emerged, the ice was damaged.
00:30I think it's one of the more difficult projects that the AIS has seen.
00:34We have two crews, an ice crew and we have a construction crew.
00:38We've been working on this for 15-16 days now and doing 14-16 hour days.
00:44It comes after a disrupted start to the season with players having limited time on the ice
00:49due to training facilities being unavailable.
00:52And the club unable to get their first choice of construction material for the rink.
00:57Because of the impact of what's happening in the Middle East and because they're coming out of Europe,
01:04they kept on putting a later date and the confirmation we got was mid to late July.
01:12Fans will now have to wait until next weekend when the Brave will take on the Newcastle North Stars on
01:18Saturday and Sunday.
01:21Despite the upheaval, club owners and players are excited to get out in front of their fans.
01:27I think we sold out about 98% of our tickets in the first three or four days.
01:32I've played in some empty arenas before in my life and playing in one like this where it's full makes
01:36a massive difference.
01:37The Brave are working with the venue and the Australian Ice Hockey League to reschedule the fixture.
01:42That's not me.
01:43You
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