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The sight of ice resurfacing machines at a Syracuse Crunch game could become a thing of the past if a Minnesota man's invention takes off in the hockey world.

(Post-Standard Photo (1998))

If you are a hockey fan that enjoys the dreamy trance the ice resurfacing machine can put you in as you watch it glide up and down the ice, you may not like what you are about to read.

Paul Van Eijl of Winona, Minnesota has invented what he calls the "Ice Jet," which can do the job of a tradional ice resurfacing machine in half the time.

Van Eijl says the "Ice Jet" can resurface the ice in about a minute or so using GPS coordinates to control multiple machines at once.

The "Ice Jet" is not on the market yet, but a prototype has been enough to generate a phone call from the reality television show “Shark Tank,” which highlights inventors and entrepreneurs hoping to make it big.

"It's really doing the same thing (as a Zamboni ice resurfacing machine)," Van Eijl told the Winona Daily News. "You're just basically making it eight times as efficient."

Van Eijl says his invention could save hockey rinks significant amounts of money each year, in part because it could make scheduling rink time more efficient.

That said, he knows the biggest obstacle he will face in selling the invention is tradition.

“The biggest challenge to the Ice Jet is the tradition of the ice resurfacing machine,” Van Eijl wrote in his business plan. “The machine has been a staple of the game of hockey for over 60 years.

Brent Axe

baxe@syracuse.com

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Clarification: This story has been corrected to reflect the proper use of the term "Zamboni."

Zamboni is a registered trademark for ice resurfacing machines made by the Frank J. Zamboni company. Think of "Zamboni" as the brand and the ice resurfacing machine as a product made by that company and others around the world.