The Winter Classic

The NHL played its third annual New Year’s Day Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.  The Philadelphia Flyers traveled north to face the Boston Bruins.  The game, as all Winter Classics have been, was extremely intense and exciting.  The Flyers had a 1-0 lead into the third period, and the Bruins tied the game to send it into overtime.  In the first overtime, Patrice Bergeron crossed a puck on net that was deflected in by Marco Sturm to give the Bruins the 2-1 win. 

The Winter Classic, established in 2008, has done wonders for the sport of hockey.  Since the lockout and the change of the tv contract from ESPN to VERSUS, hockey on the whole has struggled to draw crowds and boost high television ratings.  Part of the reason for the low television ratings is because many people do not even have VERSUS, and their only chance to watch hockey are Saturdays on NBC.  Therefore, in the 2007-2008 it seemed that hockey needed something to rejuvenate interest in the sport.  The answer was the Winter Classic.  They decided to play a hockey game outside, in the Buffalo Bills’ Ralph Wilson Stadium, and to play it on January 1st on NBC  to allow for a large audience.  This game drew a crowd of 71,217 fans, and drew high television ratings.  The NHL tried to limit the amount of penalties called and tried to keep the ice as playable as possible while keeping the game moving. 

The overwhelming success of the inaugural Winter Classic made this game a top priority of the NHL.  In 2009, the game was played in the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detriot Red Wings.

This increased viewership through the Winter Classic has and will continue to increase NHL attendance and television ratings.  The new found interest in the sport of many fans will undoubtedly help hockey to get back on the map as a major sport.  Now all hockey needs is to change TV networks (but that is a topic for another blog).

It has been rumored that Beaver Stadium may be a site for a future Winter Classic, serving as the site of the “Battle for Pennsylvania,” Flyers vs. Penguins.  Although that would be an unbelievable atmosphere for such a game, it is likely that since both the Penguins and the Flyers have participated in a Winter Classic already, the Winter Classic would not be held here.  Future sites for the event could be Denver Bronco’ Invesco Field, Yankee Stadium, or the Minnesota Twins’ new stadium, set to open this spring.