Hockey has plenty of penalties — from high-sticking to tripping — but crashing a Zamboni is not one you see every day.
A 25-year-old Zamboni operator was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol while cleaning the ice after a hockey game near Ottawa on Monday night.
The operator crashed the ice resurfacing machine into the rink boards at the Meredith Centre Arena in Chelsea, Quebec, coming to a stop as he collided with a door. It was caught on video and posted to Facebook by the Sécurité Publique MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais.
The incident occurred around 9:45 pm.
While hockey is known as the fastest game on Earth, the driver can count himself lucky that Zambonis top out at just 9.7 miles per hour.
A Zamboni driver from Canada was arrested after he drove the Zamboni into the boards while cleaning the ice between games. pic.twitter.com/EFZdlgl2gQ
— Made In Canada (@MadelnCanada) October 24, 2024
Several witnesses suspected the operator was impaired and called the police, as per a statement from Sgt. Martin Fournel of the Sécurité Publique de la MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais obtained by Radio-Canada.
“Witnesses who were on scene noticed that [the driver] possibly had symptoms of impaired abilities and decided to contact the police,” Sgt. Fournel explained in French. “So the police, once on scene, noticed certain elements, carried out a screening test and made the arrest.”
Fortunately, no one was injured, but the collision caused some damage to the rink.
As a result, the man’s driver’s licence was suspended on the spot, and he now faces legal consequences for the incident. He is expected to appear in court at a later date.