Kind of pressed for time this afternoon before heading to Palmer for a high school football playoff game, so here's the latest on Sullivan Arena: Looks good for making ice.

Joe Wooden, regional general manager for SMG, which operates the arena, told The Blog a bit ago that he expects workers to start flooding the ice, likely in the next hour or so.

Wooden said the concrete slab on which the ice is made has been slowly cooled down to 20 degrees, which allows workers to begin flooding the rink -- apparently, that begins with a process known in the biz as "slushing the corners.''

In any event, looks good for the Alaska Aces to be able to play their exhibition games Monday and Tuesday nights at Sullivan, the club's usual venue. Caveat: As Wooden pointed out, unless something unexpected occurs. Remember, the building is nearly 30 years old, as are many of the parts in the ice-making plant.

Aces managing member Terry Parks, who has been visiting Sullivan multiple times a day to keep updated on progress of repairs, said the Aces will play those exhibition games at Sullivan.

For tickets, the Aces' offices at 15th and Gambell will be open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. both Monday and Tuesday.

By now, most of you know that the exhibition games
were threatened because corroded piping beneath the arena floor discovered last month required extensive repairs in order to make ice, which, you know, is kinda fundamental when it comes to playing on indoor frozen pond. The alternative was playing the Aces' exhibition games at adjacent Ben Boeke Arena, which raised several issues, not the least of which is it doesn't even seat 1,000 compared to Sullivan's capacity of more than 6,000 for hockey.

Anyhow, stay tuned to adn.com and also check out Saturday's dead-trees edition of the ADN for updates on the situation.