On ice

摘要

For many Canadians, winter, and even autumn and spring, revolve around the sometimes graceful, sometimes brutish game of ice hockey. But for the millions who enjoy the sport from the comfort of their couches, this season will be spent flicking through other channels. The owners of the 30 teams that make up the elite National Hockey League (NHL) have locked out the players as part of an effort to make them accept lower salaries. League matches were supposed to start on October 13th and continue uninterrupted well into May. Now, it is almost certain that that there will be no NHL matches before January. Many predict that the entire season will be scrapped, and much of the next as well.