Goon's World: Winter Classic

Showing posts with label Winter Classic. Show all posts

Thursday, January 02, 2014

UND Hockey: Is there an outdoor game on the horizon?

This tweet hit Twitter yesterday. It's a great idea. It would be fun to have an outdoor hockey game between UND and UMN. Honestly, outdoor games are for the most part a nice spectacle, to be enjoyed by hockey fans. The Winter Classic was a decent game to watch yesterday.

Some fans think they’re a gimmick. I am on the fence with these things. Seriously, how many of these things are we going to have? I think this year we have hit the over saturation point. What do we have, like 20+ outdoor games this year? At last count, there were something like 23 of them. I might have missed a couple.

Don't plan to wait until 2019. RT@MikeRed22: UND and Minnesota. Target Field. 2019. Make it happen Mr. President.
— Dave St. Peter (@TwinsPrez) January 1, 2014

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

NHL plans six outdoor games next season, report says

This morning on my way to work, I was listening to SiriusXM NHL Center Ice. Apparently, there’s going to be six outdoor games, including the Winter Classic next season.

Seriously!

There are going to be a grand total of six outdoor games. Talk about an overkill.

Personally, I think there comes a time when the NHL has overdone the outdoor game, this might be an instance of this. How many outdoor games do we need to have during the course of a season? I also think the outdoor game can be a bit of a crap shoot with the weather, one of these game is almost assured of having disastrous ice conditions. Lastly, I think that the outdoor games are a gimmick as well. Really, the frozen pond in California? Make sure to throw the palm trees in for good measure.

Kevin Cusick, Pioneer Press --- TSN, Canada's version of ESPN, is reporting that the league is planning five outdoor games in addition to the Jan. 1 Winter Classic previously announced for the University of Michigan's Big House."

"They're still ironing out a few of the wrinkles," reporter Darren Dreger said on TSN's "Insider Trading" program. "Contracts haven't been signed. But that's the grand plan."

Here's the schedule that the NHL is proposing for the 2013-14 season.

Jan. 1: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings at Michigan Stadium.

Jan. 25: Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium.

Jan. 26: New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium.

Jan. 29: New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium.

March 1: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field.

March 2: Ottawa Senators vs. Vancouver Canucks at BC Place (It apparently has a retractable roof now. Who knew?).

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Winter Classic to be cancelled soon...

RT @csnne: #BruinsTalk Reports are saying the Winter Classic could be canceled very soon. ow.ly/eRrBN #lockouttalk
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 29, 2012

If you have been following your twitter feed or glancing at your favorite NHL and college hockey sites, you will see that the NHL is close to cancelling the Winter Classic, actually it sounded like the Hurricane Sandy might have actually postponed the cancelling of the Winter Classic.

@drewc_78 @csnne Yes. They also reported last week that it would be today. So there's that
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) October 29, 2012

Since rejecting the union's trio of proposals, the league has made two rounds of game cancellations. The latest, announced on Friday, wiped out the regular-season schedule for November. A source familiar with the league's plan told ESPNNewYork.com that the league is expected to cancel the Winter Classic on Thursday, the source said.[Katie Strang, ESPN.COM]

So if the NHL cancels the Winter Classic, that would mean all the other events that were supposed to take place during that time frame will also be cancelled or moved to other venues as well.

The bigger loss to the city of Detroit is the Winter Festival, a two-week event set to start in late December at Comerica Park and featuring a slew of hockey games ranging from high school to juniors to college to a Wings' alumni doubleheader.

While it may seem like that could still be held regardless of the state of the NHL, it is the NHL that would be building and funding an ice rink at Comerica, a trade-off the Wings agreed to in exchange for having the Winter Classic in Ann Arbor rather than Detroit.

So here is the schedule of everything that is supposed to take place during the Winter Classic. There is a full slate of game from the NCAA, OHL, AHL and the NHL scheduled. That is set to be cancelled on Thursday if no agreement is reached.

DEC. 15-26: Celebration of Hockey featuring amateur games, corporate outings and open skates. Information on booking ice time can be obtained by visiting DetroitRedWings.com/icetime.

DEC. 27-31: Outdoor Festival featuring interactive games, autograph signings, face painting and ice sculpture exhibits as well as musical performances and entertainment.

DEC. 27-28: Great Lakes Invitational featuring the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Western Michigan Broncos and Michigan Tech Huskies all competing for the 2012 MacInnes Cup.

DEC. 29: Ontario Hockey League doubleheader featuring the Windsor Spitfires taking on the Saginaw Spirit, and the Plymouth Whalers battling the J. Ross Robertson Cup champion London Knights.

DEC. 30: American Hockey League Game featuring the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toronto Marlies, AHL affiliates of the Red Wings and Maple Leafs, respectively.

DEC. 31: Red Wings-Maple Leafs Alumni Showdown featuring legendary players from two of the National Hockey League’s most storied franchises going head-to-head.

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