More hockey questions putting the puck in a cooler before the game?

[ausername1]

So I was just at a hockey game and noticed that the game pucks were being kept on ice in a cooler before they were to be used. When I asked about this I was told it was to keep the pucks from being more 'bouncy.' Why does this work? I would think that the colder they are, the bouncier they would be as they would have much less give to them- this isn't the best way of explaining what I think but I'm not sure how to word it... Could someone explain this to me?

 

[Drakkith]

Colder objects tend to be more rigid and brittle. You can put a rubber ball in liquid nitrogen, and it will shatter if you take it out and throw it against the ground. When the rubber is at a higher temperature it has more "give", but it is also able to reform itself back to its original shape, exerting a force in the process that causes it to bounce well.

 

[256bits]

Having the pucks at a temperature similar to that they would experience when being played with brings a certain degree of consistancy to the game for stick handling, shooting and whatever else goes on with the puck and players passing it around and stopping it.