2008 NHL Winter Classic Hockey Game
Date: Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
Place: Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York
The 2008 Winter Classic Hockey Game was probably one of the greatest days in the history of hockey. One hour before the game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres the hockey stadium was already setting up a new record in the history of hockey… with 71,217 fans!
The game was played in the United States on a temporary ice hockey rink that was built on the football field in West New York. The sponsor of the game was AMP Energy. This is the reason why it was called The AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic.
Doug Allen and Ronan Tynan did a great show singing their national anthems: "O Canada" and "God Bless America". The whole stadium went crazy when the American national anthem was sung.
This was the first outdoor game played in the United States in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Sabres also held a house party at the HSBC Arena, this way even more fans that never got the chance to buy a ticket, saw the game live on the arena's video scoreboard. There was an impressive number of fans watching the game there too: 11,000.
The preparation of the outdoor stadium started on December 24, right after the Buffalo Bills finished their last 2007 NFL game.
The game was extremely popular. Television channels from the United States and Canada broadcasted the game and achieved some of the highest hockey audiences on TV. This was the highest rating achieved for a regular NHL game in the past 10 years. The game was also broadcast on the radio on XM Satellite Radio.
The two teams entered the stadium through a cloud of smoke made by the torches that were shooting fireworks towards the sky.
And the 2008 Winter Classic hockey game started its way into the record books.
Both teams (Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres) wore some vintage jerseys for this historic event. The Penguins used powder blue jerseys from 1973, while the Sabres had white jerseys which they used to wear during the 1978-1996 period. This hockey game was being played as part of the regular ´07-´08 NHL season, the only difference is that it wasn't played at the HSBC Arena. The goal tender Ryan Miller wore some vintage mask and hockey sock on top of his mask. He changed them during each intermission. He did that in order to sell them at an auction for charity.
The weather during that glorious day for hockey was excellent for the game. The temperature was reaching just the perfect level at the freezing mark and most of the time it was snowing. Since it was an outdoor hockey game the winter setting managed to add even more magic to the game. The fact that it was snowing was very appreciated by the fans, since it made everything look even more surreal, but the truth is that it was a little bit harder for the players to do their job.
The Sabres had 37 shots on goal, while the Penguins had only 25. The Sabres managed to dominate the second and the overtime period, but it wasn't enough. The Penguins managed to win the shootout with the score of 2-1 thanks to Sydney Crosby and his game winning goal!
Thanks to the great success of the Pittsburgh Penguins/Buffalo Sabres game, there will be another Winter Classic game held on the 1st of January in 2009. This game will take place at the Wrigley Field in the city of Chicago, and the game will be between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. This will be the 701st combat between the two teams and the 2009 Winter Classic will surely be one for the history books.
The Detroit Red Wings has proven it again to the world that they could play in any element against the Chicago Blackhawks and win in this year's 2009 Winter Classic!
The 2003 Heritage Classic was the first NHL regular season outdoor game which featured the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadians…