Prince George, B.C. – The current cold snap means the outdoor ice oval may open sooner than expected.

“This weather has been perfect for making ice. Usually we get a bit of snow when we make the base and then start flooding but because of the extended cold snap we’re just going over the ground and the grass that’s there,” says volunteer ice-maker Lyle Dickieson with the Ice Oval Society.

“We’re a good week ahead anyway but that can change in a moment.”

He says they usually aim to open the first week of December but estimates they could open sooner “if things keep going well.”

Dickieson says he and his crew of four to six people have been working on the ice the past six days.

“So two floods a day basically. It’s starting to flatten out but we have a long way to go. We have maybe a quarter inch of ice or half an inch and we usually end up with four to five inches.”

He encourages anyone who would like to help out and volunteer to call 250-962-7100.