Flyers-Bruins to hit the ice at Boston’s Fenway Park
Wednesday, 07.15.2009 / 2:00 PM / Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2010
By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Staff Writer
From the Red Sox to the Rolling Stones to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fenway Park has hosted its Monster-size share of historic and memorable events. Come Jan. 1, 2010, the National Hockey League will become part of the ballpark’s storied legacy.
The NHL officially announced Wednesday in a press conference inside the venerable ballpark at 4 Yawkey Way that the 2010 Bridgestone/NHL Winter Classic will be played in Boston, with the Bruins hosting the Philadelphia Flyers in the first hockey game to be played at Fenway Park, and only the second to be played in a Major League Baseball stadium.
“A unique event deserves a unique venue, and we are delighted the Bruins and Flyers will renew their rivalry, with the ‘Green Monster’ providing the backdrop,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We welcome our fans, our teams, our sponsors and the great city of Boston to this annual celebration of our sport.”
The Winter Classic is only 2 years old and already it is one of the most anticipated events on the annual sports calendar.
The event debuted Jan. 1, 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, when the Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins in front of an NHL-record crowd of 71,217. With snow falling around him, Sidney Crosby’s shootout goal clinched a 2-1 Penguins victory.
The game was a rousing success as it played out like a live painting on NBC. It was the most-watched NHL regular season game in 11 years
I hate thinking back to that damn shootout… still pissed and bitter to this day