Matt Tomasovic never even made it to the arena.

Two zambonis broke at Ice Connection of Pittsburgh, forcing a surprise postponement of the Butler hockey team’s Feb 3 game against Upper St. Clair.

The senior winger was understandably disappointed.

“I was actually on my way to the rink when our goalie texted us and said our game is canceled,” Tomasovic said. “It had been a few days since our last game and I was looking forward to playing that game.”

Faced with little other choice, Tomasovic turned around and went home.

Not everyone was so lucky. Fellow senior Troy Double had already made it.

“We were all at the rink whenever it happened,” Double said. “We had a talk about it in the pro shop and we were frustrated. We wondered if the game would be made up.”

Such is life in the PIHL, where there are legitimate concerns about getting games in if the schedule shifts.

Ice time is so valuable, there is little the league or teams can do to shift things around.

Already this season, the Golden Tornado had a game postponed against Pittsburgh Central Catholic that has yet to be rescheduled.

Butler’s situation is particularly lousy. North of Pittsburgh, there aren’t a lot of places for the Golden Tornado to go.

The Belmont Ice Arena in Kittanning is 20 miles away, but houses several teams. BladeRunners in Warrendale is also 23 miles away, but already has to balance Mars, Seneca Valley and North Allegheny’s schedule, in addition to other activities.

Last season, Butler had more games postponed (three) than any other team in Class AAA, according to coach Mike Guentner.

While Guentner understands everyone is in the same boat, location is vital.

“Look at all the teams jam-packed in the South Hills. If we lived in the middle of Castle Shannon, there are four or five rinks in a five-mile radius,” Guentner said. “We already have to travel a half hour to play at our home rink. ... If you asked teams that play in the South Hills to go through the same experiences, they’d be shocked.”

An act of generosity helped the game against Upper St. Clair to be made up Feb. 12. Only it would not longer be a home game for Butler.

The Panthers junior varsity team gave up its ice time Tuesday so the game could be played at 5 p.m. at Ice Castle Arena in Castle Shannon.

That put in motion a set of circumstances that required serious schedule shifting.

Players were released from classes a half hour early to make it for a 5 p.m. start. Ice Castle Arena is 39 miles away, about an hour trip from Butler.

Routines of everyone, from players to parents were interrupted.

“I like getting my nap in before the game,” Tomasovic said. “Usually an hour (after school). I don’t want to go too late.”

Double still felt the Golden Tornado, which wore their home white jerseys, had an edge despite trailing 2-0 with 6:45 remaining.

“They might have been the home team, but we felt like we had the advantage,” Double said. “Just because we know its supposed to be at our place. We had to play our game.”

Butler turned the momentum around, scoring four goals in the last seven minutes to win 4-2 and move to 10-8 on the year.

Everything worked out, the Golden Tornado got the points they needed.

Butler made everything work despite being in a tough spot.

“It was a really bizarre series of circumstances. But we were able to make things work regardless of circumstances,” Guentner said. “You don’t want to have a game that was canceled never happen, especially with the parity in AAA this season.”