Tweet PITTSBURGH -- Dan Craig resorted to invention to get all of the rain water off the ice surface at Heinz Field on Saturday morning. Charles Woodson Jersey Yellow .   With the help of mechanics on his ice crew, Craig, who has been in the ice business for more than three decades, turned the ice-making machine into a giant wet vac to suck up the rain water instead of freezing it.   "We took over 3,600 gallons off the floor with the machines, maybe even closer to 3,800, and whatever might have leaked out the sidewalls," Craig told NHL.com three hours before the opening faceoff for the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Saturday evening. "There was a lot of water out there. It was raining pretty good here this morning, from about 7 through until 9. It came through in sheets."   The ice crew has spent its time since the water removal manicuring the ice sheet by playing with the temperature levels in the refrigeration truck outside the stadium. Pipes run from the truck to the sub-floor of the rink and send a fluid called glycol to freeze the water that is sprayed down by Craigs ice crew.   The goal temperature is between 22 to 24 degrees Fahrenheit, but Craig said all he needs for Saturday nights 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic is a frozen sheet. They could do that in about a half-hour, but if you "fast freeze" the surface, Craig said, the ice will become brittle and crack.   A cold front is expected to come through Pittsburgh after 6 p.m. Saturday night to drop the air temperature to 42 degrees, which Craig said would be a big help.   "I was just down there and moved it another three-tenths of a degree," Craig said. "We need to manipulate it because the air up here is still at 52 degrees right now, and if I would have been told that Im making ice outdoors at 52 degrees I would have said theres not a hope that would happen on Jan. 1. But here we are."   Craig said he has never had to create an NHL ice sheet in rain and warmth.   "Blizzards? Yes. Snow banks? Yes," he said. "Rain like this? No."   He said Mother Nature has never tested him the way she has Saturday.   "By far, this is as big of a challenge as anything that has been presented," he said. "Thats why we have the crew we have and with the knowledge we have out there. We get everybodys ideas on the table and we mix them all up. Hopefully, everything comes out as the winning solution here."   Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl Premier Mike Jenkins Jersey . With the victory, the Suns (5-3) completed their fifth straight non-losing exhibition season and 19th in the past 20 years. The Thunder (1-5) will finish their exhibition schedule Friday night at the Los Angeles Lakers. Wes Welker Jersey Youth Premier . These teams have split the first two meetings of this series, with the Athletics rebounding from a loss on Friday with a 15-1 rout last night. Replica Cortland Finnegan Jersey .J. -- According to the Philadelphia Daily News, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren confirmed Saturday afternoon that 34-year-old goalie John Grahame has signed a professional tryout contract with the teams American Hockey League affiliate in Adirondack. San Diego Chargers Ryan Mathews Jersey . Thorpe, 28, who retired in 2006 citing waning motivation, has been training to recuperate from a shoulder injury suffered in a car accident in China more than two years ago. Thorpes manager, David Flaskas, has confirmed Thorpe has been training, but he also made it clear that if he were to return to competitive swimming, it would not happen overnight, newspapers reported. Brandon Jacobs Jersey . An announcement is expected once medical exam documents are completed. Nady hit .256 with six home runs and 33 RBIs for the Chicago Cubs last season. He underwent elbow ligament replacement surgery in 2009. Charles Woodson Jersey Blue . Cliff Forrest of Fox Chapel, Pa., took US$8,500 out of his college savings account to buy Perrys Super Bowl ring in New York. "He only played in one Super Bowl," Cliff said. Aaron Rodgers Jersey Youth Replica . The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission approved a recommendation from engineers who said they worried simply repairing several torn panels of the stadiums Teflon roof wouldnt be enough to prevent another failure. Work could get underway by the middle of March with a goal of finishing by Aug. Donald Driver Jersey Yellow . Le défenseur Jeff Schultz a mis fin à une disette de 81 matchs sans marquer, tandis que Alexander Ovechkin mettait la table pour les deux autres filets de Mike Knuble. Les Capitals ont dirigé seulement 12 tirs vers Martin Brodeur pour récolter leur 13e victoire en 16 rencontres. THUNDER BAY, Ont. -- Cody Thornton scored twice, including the game-winner, as the Saint Marys Huskies rallied from an early two-goal deficit Friday to beat the McGill Redmen 4-2 at the Canadian university mens hockey championship. Scott Brophy and Justin Munden also scored for the Huskies, and Colby Pridham added two assists for the third-seeded Atlantic champions. Saint Marys improved to 1-0 and will meet the Manitoba Bisons (1-0) in the Pool B finale on Saturday, with the winner earning a spot in Sundays final of the Cavendish University Cup. In the late game from Pool A, No. 4 Lakehead jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back, beating No. 6 Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres 7-2. Dan Speer and Matt Caria each scored twice, and Brock McPherson, Kris Hogg and Ryan McDonald had the other goals for Lakehead (1-0), which will face No. 1 Alberta (1-0) on Saturday with a spot in the final on the line. Francis Charland and Felix Petit replied for UQTR (0-2), which was eliminated with the loss. "I thought that tonight our forecheck was the key," said Thunderwolves coach Joel Scherban. "We knew coming in a few weeks ago that we needed to step up the pressure and I think we did that tonight to generate a lot of offfence. Roddy White Jersey. " In the early game, Maxime Langelier-Parent and Christopher Longpre-Poirier gave No. 2 McGill (0-2) an early two-goal lead, but for the second-straight game, the Redmen could not hang on and were eliminated from the tournament. Thornton made it 2-1 at 13:38 of the first and Brophy tied things at 9:25 of the second. Thornton, of Woodstock, Ont., gave the Huskies their first lead just over a minute later and Munden scored on the power play at 14:07 for a 4-2 lead after two periods. "Theres no question that our game plan was to forecheck, take the body and pressure them as much as possible," said Huskies coach Trevor Stienburg. "I thought we did a real good job of it in the first 10 minutes but I wont lie to you, I was a little concerned when we fell behind 2-0." McGill blew a 4-1 third-period lead to Manitoba on Thursday, losing 5-4 in overtime. "It was very frustrating as we had a good lead early in both games," said Langelier-Parent. "We killed ourselves with penalties." Neil Conway made 22 saves to pick up the win, while Hubert Morin stopped made 22-of-26 saves in defeat. McGill finished 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Huskies finished 1-for-5. ' ' '