Two years ago on January 1, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres played in the NHL Winter Classic, an outdoor hockey game held at Ralph Wilson Stadium in front of 71,217 in attendance and a live national television audience on NBC. Leading up to the game, some doubted whether the it was a PR stunt that would financially backfire on the NHL; no one would show up to watch a hockey game in arctic conditions, and even less would watch the game on television on New Year's Day.
2010 Winter Classic: Ring In The New Year With The Flyers And Bruins at Fenway Park
To the surprise of many (and most likely the NHL), the game was a resounding success. The Penguins and Sabres fought to a tie in regulation and overtime in the midst of steady snow showers. The sight of snow falling around the players in near-zero temperatures as they skated up and down the ice was one that will stick with many for years to come. The icing on the cake was that Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal in the shootout.
It was a riveting game played in front of millions of television viewers, and the NHL decided to go from a one-off experiment to making the Winter Classic an annual event.
This year's game will be played at Fenway Park, with the host Boston Bruins taking on the Philadelphia Flyers. When the game was scheduled it looked to be a battle between two Eastern Conference powerhouses; at this point in the season Boston has struggled to maintain their goaltending success from last year and Philadelphia has completely fallen to pieces.
Despite the early-season struggles of both teams, this year’s Classic is shaping up to be just as successful as the past two (Detroit played Chicago in Wrigley Field last year). With the game being held in the much smaller Fenway Park, the NHL had to have a lottery to determine who had the chance to purchase tickets. NBC will once again be carrying the game and it will be one hell of a sight to see hockey players skating under the legendary Green Monster.
SB Nation will be on hand to cover the game, and we’ll be providing as extensive a fan perspective as you’ll find anywhere else on the internet.
- Travis Hughes from Broad Street Hockey will have the big view from Fenway's press box and will be providing coverage from the Flyers' side of the game.
- Stanley Cup of Chowder has coverage for the home team, and will be joining Travis for media day on Thursday and will have reports from the practices and morning skates.
- Randy Booth from Over The Monster will also be hand to provide a fan's perspective of the game, getting the feel of the game from the crowd and the atmosphere in and around Fenway Park.
- Randy has also promised to break the world record for the amount of Tweets from a live sporting event. You can follow him here.
Be sure to stick with SB Nation for the most comprehensive coverage of the 2010 Winter Classic from a perspective not presented anywhere else: The Fan.
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