ORCHARD PARK - The boards are going up, the ice is going in, and everything is back on schedule as the NHL converts Ralph Wilson Stadium into a hockey rink for Tuesday's Winter Classic outdoor game between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Delayed by gusty winds and snow on Sunday and Monday, the league began making ice and installing the dasher boards Wednesday on what officials said was a perfect 35-degree afternoon that featured little wind and no precipitation.

“You couldn't ask for a better day,” said Dan Craig, the league's ice guru, who is overseeing the rink construction. “It was letter perfect.”

Wednesday's weather was far different from when work began after the Buffalo Bills' game Sunday. Wind gusts that peaked at 50 mph and wind chills in the low-teens forced the league to cram more than 60 hours of work into the past two days, but Craig said every thing is now going smoothly.

“It made for a few challenges the first night, but we worked our way around it,” he said. “We got our guys some extra rest on that first day, but pushed very hard the last 48 hours.”

Crews were able to level off the field - which has a six-inch crown where the rink is located - in about 10 hours on Wednesday using plastic foam sheets covered by 3/4 inch plywood and plastic enclosed in a box-like structure. That led to the next step: putting the ice mats down before a thin layer of sand was dragged over the mats to help form a base for the ice surface.

The mats will be filled with water and Craig was optimistic there would be a fully enclosed hockey rink with at least a half-inch of ice by Thursday afternoon.

“If we get three or four more days like this, I can work through everything we're running with,” he said.

The forecast shows favorable temperatures, but crews may be hindered by some scattered rain and snow showers that are predicted for the rest of the week. Craig, though, isn't too worried, especially since he can add manpower if need be.

“We're working around the clock,” he said. “There's no backing out here.”

A weather station has also been installed along the sidelines at the 50-yard line to give Craig up-to-the-minute information about temperatures, wind speed and direction, air pressure and dew points.

“We know every hour what's coming,” Craig said. “That's the way you work it.”

The Sabres and Penguins are scheduled to practice at the stadium Monday afternoon.

If there is bad weather, the NHL has the option of postponing the game to Jan. 2.