[quote=“zwarbyt,post:28,topic:34390"”]
company bought 200 tickts…
[/quote]
I’ll find you a few dozen gallons of used grease… 
im pumped!!!
was doing a lil reading, found a review for the last one
Fans, players bundle up for historic game
By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY
EDMONTON — Images of wind-chafed youngsters playing hockey on frozen ponds or backyard rinks are to Canadians what Norman Rockwell paintings are to the American culture.
Montreal goaltender Jose Theodore can see his breath while playing in Edmonton during the NHL’s inaugural outdoor game. The Canadiens beat the Oilers 4-3. By Tom Hanson, AP
Romance merged with reality Saturday when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in the first NHL regular-season game played outdoors. Even with a game-time temperature of minus 1, a league-record crowd of 57,167 showed up at Commonwealth Stadium to witness the historic event.
“It was surreal,” said Edmonton Oilers winger Ryan Smyth. “That’s the only way to describe it.”
Before the regulation game, a team of Oilers alumni, led by Wayne Gretzky, posted a 2-0 win against a team of former Montreal Canadiens, led by Guy Lafleur. The game was more competitive than most old-timers’, with players inspired by the crowd’s enthusiasm and the ambience.
“We felt like we were 10 years old again,” Lafleur say, “but my legs felt like they were 50.”
Fans — some coming from as far away as Finland and Japan — started showing up two hours before the alumni game. Many sat for seven hours in sub-zero conditions.
" The fans were really just making a statement," said Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe. “This is us. It’s cold, but we live our lives.”
Players had heaters on the bench, but that didn’t help them on their 45-second shifts.
“It was really cold,” said Canadiens right wing Richard Zednik who scored two goals. “My hands were almost too cold too shoot.”
It was worse on the goaltenders who couldn’t sit on the bench. They would come to the bench during television timeouts and put their blocker and glove on the heater to get some temporary relief.
“It was bad in the first five minutes of each period,” said Montreal goalie Jose Theodore. “You would get warmed up, and then come out and it was really cold again. You didn’t want to come back out. But when your whole body got cold again you were fine. But it was a great experience.”
Players were ski masks underneath their helmets, and Theodore wore a stocking cap — what Canadians call a toque — over his helmet-mask.
“My mother always said wear your toque or you will catch cold,” Theodore said. “I didn’t want her to be mad at me.”
The ice conditions deteriorated as it got colder. “It was chippy,” Smyth said.
Theodore tripped on a rut at one point in the game, but the NHL officials determined that it was the kind of rut that occurs on indoor rinks as well.
Fans witnessed an entertaining game with Montreal building a 3-1 lead, and then allowing Edmonton pull within a goal twice in the final seven minutes.
After Steve Staios scored for the Oilers with 5:13 remaining, Edmonton pressed for the tying goal. Mike York just missed a chance to tie with under 20 seconds left in regulation.
The crowd size shattered the NHL mark of 27,227 for the Tampa Bay season opener against the Florida Panthers in 1993-94. This was not the largest North American crowd to watch a hockey crowd outdoors. A crowd of 74,554 was registered when Michigan played Michigan State in college hockey in East Lansing last year.
The NHL had hoped game time temperature would be around 15-20, and the severe cold prompted some discussion about whether the game should be played. “There was no way we weren’t going to play this game,” said Montreal defenseman Sheldon Souray.
It was so cold that even one of the Zambonis froze before the game, but it certainly didn’t discourage fans from enjoying themselves.
Mark Messier, who won five Stanley Cup championships playing for the Oilers, received New York Rangers’ permission to be the only active player in the alumni game.
“If I didn’t get here I would have regretted it,” Messier said.
i’m fucking down for this!!!
I cant wait but i know the seating is going to be terrible the stadum seats aren’t steep enough to get any good viewing.
Seats seem over priced to me… but ill be there.
i got my tix,…at season ticket prices :tup:; and free to me on top of that.
tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am
I have a feeling its going to be 45 degrees that day
How will they keep the ice frozen
[quote=“93dx–hatch,post:50,topic:34390"”]
I have a feeling its going to be 45 degrees that day
How will they keep the ice frozen
[/quote]
I guess they can sustain ice in pretty warm conditions. there will be piping under the ice pumping chilled ammonia.
the broadcast said that 55+ degrees is a problem. i would assume 45 would be ok. the average is 25 and thats what they are hoping for, with overcast skies.
[quote=“Viper966,post:53,topic:34390"”]
how did they handle seating?
[/quote]
i cant see any seating that would work well with seating. all the seats are so far from the actual ice its gonna be hard to see anything. Thank god for that new HD jumbotron.
[quote=“Viper966,post:53,topic:34390"”]
how did they handle seating?
[/quote]
Same as for a Bills game, but they need to find an extra 1000 or so seats if they want the all time record held by Michigan State. We should easily crush the NHL record.
JMO who cares if I’m in the top row far away…its the entire atmosphere of being at a sabres game… new years day… camping out in the lot the night before… drinking in the new year…with best friends…and the sabres 
Camping in the lot the night before?? :lol: have fun with that if its 30 out.
[quote=“93dx–hatch,post:49,topic:34390"”]
tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am
[/quote]
splitting 1/4 of a season tickets that i didnt pay for ftw…
I want to sit in the $29 seats, its were all the crazy fans are going to be
[quote=“aloha17leigh,post:56,topic:34390"”]
camping out in the lot the night before…
[/quote]
good luck with that…it’s going to be like 3 degrees.
i can’t wait. club level seats ftw!