� 1 Appellant
*fn1 , Perry Petrongola, asks us to determine whether the trial court erred in finding Appellees, as owners and operators of a hockey arena, owed “no duty” to protect Appellant from an errant puck that struck him in the mouth during the course of a hockey game. In addition, we must determine if a question exists as to whether Appellees assumed a duty to protect Appellant from that errant puck. Finally, Appellant asks us to decide whether the trial court improperly relied on the “assumption of the risk” defense in granting Appellees’ motion for summary judgment, and whether the trial court erred in granting Appellees’ motion for summary judgment after it had previously denied Appellees’ motion for judgment on the pleadings.
� 2 We hold that Appellees had “no duty” to protect Appellant from an errant puck entering the seating portion of the arena, as such instances are a common, frequent, and expected occurrence at a hockey game; the Spectrum hockey facility did not deviate from any established custom of safety that would give rise to liability for the injuries sustained by Appellant; Appellees did not assume a duty to protect Appellant merely by erecting a plexiglass shield around the ice surface; and the trial court did not improperly rely on the “assumption of the risk” defense in granting Appellees’ motion for summary judgment. Finally, we hold that it was proper for the trial court to grant Appellees’ motion for summary judgment although it had previously denied Appellees’ motion for judgment on the pleadings. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s order granting Appellees’ motion for summary judgment.
� 3 The relevant facts and procedural history of this case are as follows. Appellant, Perry Petrongola, was a Philadelphia Phantoms season ticket holder. Appellee, Comcast-Spectacor, L.P., owns the CoreStates Spectrum. The Philadelphia Phantoms’ home arena is the CoreStates Spectrum. The playing surface at the Spectrum is almost entirely surrounded by a shield of plexiglass and dasher boards *fn2 that extend from the ice surface to a height of nine (9) feet. However, the dasher boards directly in front of the players’ benches do not contain the plexiglass shield so that the players may freely move from the ice to the bench, and vice-versa, during the game.
