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NHL Winter Classic

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View of Ralph Wilson Stadium during the 2008 NHL Winter Classic.

The NHL Winter Classic is an annual event held by the National Hockey League (NHL) where regular-season games are played outdoors in the United States. The first Winter Classic was held in 2008. A parallel Canadian series, the Heritage Classic, began in 2003, but has been far more sporadic.

History

The first was January 1, 2008, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. This game had an NHL-record crowd of 71,217 fans in attendance. The success of the 2008 NHL Winter Classic led the NHL to schedule a second one for 2009, held at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, on January 1, 2009, matching the Detroit Red Wings against the Chicago Blackhawks. This game had the highest television ratings of any hockey game in 33 years. The success of the 2009 NHL Winter Classic has solidified "The Classic" as an annual event from then on. The Winter Classic was the brainchild of NBC Sports Executive VP Jon Miller. He pitched the idea to then NHL Executive VP/Business & Media John Collins who immediately embraced the idea.[1]

The third Winter Classic was held at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 1, 2010, featuring the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. The result was a dramatic 2-1 overtime win for Boston, making the Bruins the first home team to win an NHL outdoor game. The announcement of the 2010 Winter Olympics roster for the United States men's national ice hockey team was made shortly after the game had ended.

On May 28, 2010, it was announced that the 2011 Winter Classic would be played at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals. It will be the Penguins' second appearance in the classic.

Outdoor effects of wind and sun glare may give an unfair advantage to one team, so the NHL sometimes modifies the third and overtime periods. In this case, play is stopped at the midway point and teams switch directions. This option was exercised in 2008.

Other NHL outdoor games

The NHL's first outdoor game took place in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 27, 1991. The game featured the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers in a a pre-season match-up.[2] A temporary ice rink was constructed in the parking lot of Caesars' Palace.[3] To create the rink hardboard insulation coated with a vapor barrier laid down on the ground, then covered with sand to form the base, 22 miles (35 km) of refrigeration tubes were used under the playing surface. The 0.312 inches (7.9 mm) inch diameter tubes circulated a mixture of super-cooled methanol and water.[4] The process of keeping the ice cool in the desert heat required three times as much coolant as a standard NHL rink.[4] During the day a reflective tarp was elevated over the ice to keep the ice out of direct sunlight.[2] There were few problems despite temperatures that reached 95 °F (35 °C) during the day[4] and a game time temperature of 80 °F (27 °C).[2] An early morning rain melted some of the ice prior to the game, but the refrigeration system compensated and with the aid of a Zamboni the surface was restored,[4] later when the tarp was removed for the game parts of it fell onto the playing surface, the heat of the tarp melted gouges into the ice which were fixed prior to the game.[2] Oddly enough, the coolant system almost worked to well, with the ice temperature set to 8 °F (−13 °C) the ice began to crack and the temperature was raised to 11 °F (−12 °C).[4] During the contest grasshoppers began to jump onto the ice, where they would freeze or drowned in water used to maintain the ice, by the end of the second period the ice was littered with the bugs.[2] In the end 13,000 fans watched the Kings defeat the Rangers 5–2, highlight with a goal by Wayne Gretzky.[5] The game would lead to Los Angeles playing an annual preseason game in the city (though indoors) in the Frozen Fury series beginning in 1997.

The Winter Classic was preceded by the 2003 Heritage Classic which took place on November 22, 2003, at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium. The Heritage Classic was between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens and was the first regular season outdoor game in the history of the National Hockey League. A second Heritage Classic will be played on February 20, 2011 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens.

Curiously, the Detroit Red Wings played a game on an outdoor ice surface on February 2, 1954 at Marquette Branch Prison in Michigan against the inmates in 21F degree weather. After the first period the Red Wings led in the game 18–0; the rest of the game the score was not kept.[6]

List of NHL Classics

Heritage Classic

Edition Name Date Site Attendance Home team Score Away team Notes
2003 Heritage Classic November 22, 2003 Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta 57,167 Edmonton Oilers 3–4 Montreal Canadiens First regular season NHL outdoor game.
Predecessor to the Winter Classic.
2011 2011 Heritage Classic February 20, 2011 McMahon Stadium, Calgary, Alberta Calgary Flames Montreal Canadiens This is the second outdoor NHL game to be held in Canada following the Heritage Classic in 2003. This will also be the second outdoor game involving the Montreal Canadiens.

Winter Classic

Edition Name Date Site Attendance Home team Score Away team Notes
2008 AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic January 1, 2008 Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 71,217 Buffalo Sabres 1–2 (SO) Pittsburgh Penguins First Winter Classic. It was colloquially called the "Ice Bowl" around Buffalo.
2009 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2009 January 1, 2009 Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois 40,818 Chicago Blackhawks 4–6 Detroit Red Wings This is the first Classic to feature two Original Six teams, as well as the first to be played in a baseball stadium.
2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2010 January 1, 2010 Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts 38,112 Boston Bruins 2–1 (OT) Philadelphia Flyers First Winter Classic won by the home team, first Classic without Ty Conklin as a goalie, as well as the first containing an official fight.
2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2011 January 1, 2011 Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals This is the second Winter Classic involving the Pittsburgh Penguins, first for the Washington Capitals.

Throwback Jerseys

Ever since the first Heritage Classic it has been tradition to wear throwback or retro-style jerseys. The retro jerseys are as follows:

  • 2003 Edmonton Oilers: 1979-80
  • 2003 Montreal Canadiens: 1978-79
  • 2008 Pittsburgh Penguins: 1970-71
  • 2008 Buffalo Sabres: 1970-71
  • 2009 Detroit Red Wings: 1926-27
  • 2009 Chicago Blackhawks: 1935-36 design with 1948-49 logo
  • 2010 Philadelphia Flyers: 1973-74 with modern font for their numbers and a black nametag
  • 2010 Boston Bruins: 1958-59 design with brown stripes instead of black and 1948-49 inspired logo
  • 2011 Washington Capitals: 1974-75
  • 2011 Pittsburgh Penguins: 1967-68 jersey with colors reversed and crest logo instead of diagonal "Pittsburgh" wording that appeared on original jerseys
  • 2011 Montreal Canadiens: 1985-86
  • 2011 Calgary Flames: 1920s Calgary Tigers design with Flames logo

The throwback jerseys are very popular with fans, and teams have often continued to wear them after the Winter Classic. The Penguins and Blackhawks made their Winter Classic jerseys their alternates the next season. The Flyers went a step further and made their Winter Classic jerseys their road jerseys for 2010-11. The Sabres already had been using a variation of their throwback jerseys prior to their appearance (that particular season, there were no third jerseys anywhere in the league) and adopted a slightly updated version of the jerseys as their main uniform in 2010-11.

Impact

The Winter Classic has proven to be a ratings success for the league and is regularly the league's most watched regular season contest, rivaling the ratings for the Stanley Cup. Its popularity led to the American Hockey League adopting a similar contest in 2010, the Mirabito Outdoor Classic.

Sports Illustrated columnist Dan Shaughnessy said of the new Winter Classic, “now hockey owns New Year's Day the way baseball owns the Fourth of July and football owns Thanksgiving.”[7]

Winter Classic Curse

Since the inception of the NHL's Winter Classic outdoor game starting during the 2007-2008 NHL Season, the away team in each instance has gone on to the Stanley Cup Finals only to lose that series. The 2007-2008 Pittsburgh Penguins were the visiting team against the 2007-2008 Buffalo Sabres, only to lose to the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 Final that year. The 2008-2009 Detroit Red Wings visited the 2008-2009 Chicago Blackhawks, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 Final. The 2009-2010 Philadelphia Flyers visited the 2009-2010 Boston Bruins, only to go on to lose to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 Final.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ “Ice men cometh”, “The Boston Globe,” December 29, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e Huskey, Melody (2008-12-31). "Kings No Stranger To Outdoor Game". Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  3. ^ Springer, Steve (1991-08-27). "Ice in Desert? It's No Mirage Hockey: Kings, Rangers play in Caesars Palace parking lot tonight". Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  4. ^ a b c d e Thomas, Robert (1991-08-29). "1991-1992 N.H.L. SEASON; Gamble Works: Rangers Play In Las Vegas". Retrieved 2010-11-24. Cite error: The named reference "NY" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Save the Date - Frozen Fury XIII - OCT. 2, 2010 Take A Look Back at the history of Frozen Fury". Retrieved 2010-11-24.
  6. ^ http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2010/03/red-wings-played-prison-hockey-team-in.html
  7. ^ Shaughnessy, Dan. “NHL's Winter Classic makes every New Year's Day a hockey day”, “Sports Illustrated,” December 28, 2009
  8. ^ "Winter Classic Curse". Boston Bruins.
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