Since the second game of the season, any matchup between the Nashville Predators and Utah Mammoth has been coined the "Ice Age." 

In addition to the woolly mammoth and the saber-toothed tiger, the existence of both during the ice age is a lovable character featured in the film franchise by the same name. 

 While Salt Lake City averages about 54 inches of snow, not many expected Mother Nature to get in on the rivalry in Nashville, out of all places. 

Around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, rumblings began that a massive winter storm was headed directly for the Southeast United States by Jan. 24, with Nashville right in the middle of it.

While the storm system eventually shifted north, Nashville would still be treated to an unprecedented amount of snow, sleet and eventually ice. 

As locals geared up for the approaching weather, the Predators had to decide whether to play Saturday's afternoon game against the Mammoth.

Puck drop was scheduled for 2:30 p.m., but by then, not only would all the snow have fallen, but the ice would've started to cover the roads. 

It was announced on Friday that the game would be moved up to 12:30 p.m., with doors opening at 11 a.m. and fans getting 50% off select concessions. 

 With a plan set in place, all that was left was to wait. 

I'm no stranger to the snow and ice. 

I grew up around Chicago, where we got over three feet of snow one winter and had our water pipes frozen another. I went to school in rural Indiana, which was milder than home, and then put my cold tolerance to the test after college, living in North Dakota for 9 months. 

In the same light, since 2021, I've been living in Florida, Nevada and now Tennessee, so a lot of that "endurance" has worn off. 

I was not so worried about driving to the game, as I have a Jeep Wrangler, but I was concerned about how the area would handle snow, given the drivers and road conditions. 

To give myself some buffer time, I left my apartment in Hermitage, Tennessee (about 12 miles from downtown) two hours before the game and made my way down Interstate 40. 

My car nearly got stuck twice trying to get onto the interstate, but I knew things would hopefully clear up as I got closer to downtown, and they did. 

I-40 was down to two somewhat cleared lanes, and downtown was still a little messy, but I thankfully made it to Music City Center and saw that the weekend parking rate was still $25. 

Walking into the arena, as many did, I was greeted by a sign welcoming fans to move down to the lower bowl due to staffing shortages. 

If I were a fan, I would've been thrilled for a chance at glass seats, but to my surprise, a few hundred chose to stay up in the upper bowl. 

Even Predxican, a die-hard Predators fan who sits a section over from the press box in the 300 level, made his way down to the lower bowl with dog, Champ. 

Outside of the isolation, there wasn't much reason to stay up in the 200s and 300s, as it was COLD. Most games, I usually wear a lighter sweater with an overcoat, but that wasn't enough, as a slight chill was blowing through the upper bowl. 

Eventually, warm-ups started, Roman Josi had his 1,000 game celebration, and then it was puck drop. 

It's usually pretty loud at puck drop, with fans getting hyped, but as soon as the opening face-off commenced, the quiet was noticeable. 

You got used to it and eventually settled into the game's pace, but there were moments here and there when the lack of attendance, especially where the media was sitting, was noticeable. 

Halfway through the first period, Jonathan Marchessault was called for offside and expletively vocalized his frustrations. In a normal game, it probably wouldn't have been as loud, but his f-bomb was heard loudly all over the arena and on the broadcast.

The Predators' rough second period proved costly in the end as they fell to the Mammoth, 5-2, sending fans home a little colder than they arrived. 

I left as soon as the postgame interviews were over, realizing the freezing rain was starting to fall and that I had possibly an even more challenging drive ahead of me.

Also, made me realize that the Predators' decision to move the game up by 2 hours was a lot smarter in hindsight than it seemed at the time.  

I did question if it was a dumb idea to jump in my car and go to the game when just about everyone was telling me not to.

However, the biggest thing I took away from the game was the experience. 

It was a little bit more intimate and fun to be inside a half-empty Bridgestone Arena, in a situation where the Predators weren't awful or playing amidst a global health emergency.

You could really feel the passion from the fans that were there, and it was an experience you really don't get to have at professional sporting events. 

The result wasn't in the Predators' favor, but it was a game those in attendance will never forget.