The NHL shoots, scores with Winter Classic

| January 1, 2008 More

Well, if you asked me off the top of my head, how I’d like to ring in the new year, I could probably think of many ways better than watching hockey, but I have to admit, the NHL’s winter classic was highly entertaining.

Sidney Crosby, after his game winning shootout goal [AP photo/David Duprey] The Winter Classic, the NHL’s first regular-season outdoor game in the United States, pitted the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Buffalo Sabres. The outdoor rink was built by NHL ice guru Dan Craig, inside the Buffalo Bills’ Ralph Wilson Stadium. There was something about the “old-school” hockey feel (i.e. having to stop the game to re-ice part of the rink, shoveling snow, etc.) of today’s contest that really kept me, and probably many others tuned to the game. Besides the novelty, the game was actually pretty exciting, as it went into a shootout and was won by one of the NHL’s premier stars, Sidney Crosby.

So, was the winter classic a success for the struggling sport that is hockey? I would say yes. The NHL picked the perfect location in Buffalo, the weather, for the most part, held up (unlike the previous outdoor experiment in Edmonton in 2003), there were more than 70,000 fans in attendance, and the sales of hockey paraphernalia from the game is estimated to be around $1 million dollars. Best of all? NBC even cared about the game enough to not preempt it and go to “The Music of Seal…on Ice” (maybe it has to be a playoff game before NBC decides to preempt it?). The problem? this game was a novelty, and obviously a novelty cannot be created for every game. But it does appear that if the NHL decided to have an annual outdoor classic it would be a step in the right direction towards boosting television ratings and overall revenues.

On this day at least, the NHL managed to capture the attention of a casual hockey fan for a good three and a half hours. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going online to try and find a Sidney Crosby winter classic replica jersey.
ESPN: This time around outdoors, there’s more at risk for NHL

ESPN: Want the ultimate outdoor rink? Dan Craig makes it so

Globesports: NHL to confirm outdoor game in Buffalo

Category: Hockey

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  1. Sportsattitude says:
    January 2, 2008 at 10:52 am

    Emmett, nice post. I gave the game props on my site as well and was quite pleased a lot of folks apparently were searching out info on the event prior to face-off. I think it was a huge marketing success for the NHL and hope it kick-starts a little more interest. At the very least, here’s hoping this becomes an annual event.

  2. Ehhhhhh says:
    February 19, 2008 at 12:12 am

    Why dont you kiss Kid Crosby’s ass a bit more??? I am sick of hearing about him. It was a great game though.

  3. emmettjones says:
    February 19, 2008 at 12:32 am

    Wow…Well, I am from Pittsburgh, for one. He is arguably the best player in hockey, for two. I didn’t tell you to read the post, for three.

    …but thanks for the comment.

  4. Godless says:
    July 5, 2008 at 2:51 pm

    “He is arguably the best player in hockey” .. Yeah to bad our Red wings got all the trophy’s . The cup . And pretty much embarrassed them in the finals. Heck we even opted to play a few extra games for the commission.

    Crosby choked. …. But i ain’t mad :)

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