WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) -- The warm weather in Europe is wreaking havoc on the World Cup ski tour. It hasn't stopped competition among skiers, however.

Lack of snow has kept racers off the slopes, but the Americans and Canadians on the circuit made up for it by playing some pickup hockey.

"It's fun to do stuff with other teams, especially when you can't ski train and there's no warm up at the venues," United States men's head coach Phil McNichol said. "They're athletes after all and they need to do stuff or they go stir crazy."

After downhill training was called off Wednesday, International Ski Federation equipment control official Mike Kertesz, a Canadian, swiftly stepped in to organize a game at the local rink.

"He has us all on a speed text-messaging list and sends us hockey updates as they come in," Canada men's head coach Paul Kristofic said.

The Swedes, Finns and Swiss often play as well in the game, which has been going on for decades. But it was mainly Americans and Canadians -- including Bode Miller, Scott Macartney, Erik Guay and Francois Bourque -- playing Wednesday. The melting pot also included a few random skiers and coaches from other nations, like Finley Mickel of Britain and an Italian coach.

The Canadians returned to the ice after a three-year ban imposed by former head coach Burkhard Schaffer, an Austrian who brought discipline to the young team in 2003 and barred his skiers from taking part.

"We snuck out there a couple of times anyway," said Michael Janyk, the runner-up in the slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado, this season. "We still managed to play in Adelboden and Wengen last year."

In the 1980s and 90s, skiers used to travel the circuit with their hockey gear, Kristofic said.

"Before Burkie, if you had room after you packed your hockey equipment, then you threw your skis in," joked Manuel Osborne-Paradis, the runner-up in a downhill at Lake Louise, Alberta, in November. "It's a big deal. It's a form of release. You hang out with the same five, six guys on your team all the time and this brings all the teams together."

Hockey is the biggest sport in Canada, and most Canadians take it very seriously.

"I don't think Burkie understood the cultural significance of hockey to Canadians," Kristofic said.

Schaffer returned to the Austrian ski team this season, where he now coaches slalom. The Austrians make only rare appearances at hockey games.

"I'm not really good. I play with my friends at home and I like it very much but there's the risk of injury," overall World Cup champion Benjamin Raich said. "I have special preparations for racing and training and they don't include hockey."

Olympic combined gold medalist Ted Ligety of the United States also avoids the ice for safety reasons.

"I don't travel with my gear. It's too much stuff to haul around," Ligety said. "And I don't want to play without my pads. I don't want to get a puck in the shins. It's not worth it."

On Sunday night at Kandersteg, after the slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland, Miller was hit by a flying puck.

"Bode took a puck in the calf. Like a big ding dong he wasn't wearing his shin guards," McNichol said.

Most of the guys wear their ski helmets and slalom shin guards under their sweats or jeans for protection. The outfit is usually completed with a ski team coat or a hockey jersey.

To prevent racers from getting hit in the head with the puck, certain rules are strictly observed.

"The rules are simple. Keep the puck on the ice. No slashing and no checking," McNichol said. "It can get pretty competitive. We try not to let it get too intense but boys will be boys."

Because fatigue is a risk, Canadian dryland coach Kurt Kothbauer makes sure his skiers don't overdo it.

"That was the problem before," Kristofic said. "They'd skate like mad and build up lactic acid and be tired and sore the next day." There are, of course, some risks.

"In Bormio over Christmas, everyone forgot their sticks and skates so we played with kiddie sticks someone found and a ball," Osborne-Paradis said. "Everyone was playing hunched over and the next day everyone's back was killing them."