Teams in the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
first hosted games
outdoors in 2010. Paralleling the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's
Winter Classic
The NHL Winter Classic (french: La Classique hivernale de la LNH) is an annual regular season outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on or around New Year's Day, generally in a football or baseball stadium in an area ...
and
Heritage Classic, these outdoor games frequently pit two regional rivals in a game in an outdoor venue. Inasmuch as the games have carried a unified brand (most have been independently named and organized), the most commonly used name for these events has been the Outdoor Classic.
History
2009–10
The
Mirabito Outdoor Classic was the first-ever outdoor hockey game in the 74-year history of the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL) as well as the first minor league outdoor game.
The game was put on by the
Syracuse Crunch and played at the
New York State Fairgrounds
The New York State Fair, also known as the Great New York State Fair, is a 13-day showcase of agriculture, entertainment, education, and technology. With midway rides, concessionaires, exhibits, and concerts, it has become New York's largest an ...
in
Syracuse, New York. The game took place on February 20, 2010, with the Crunch beating the
Binghamton Senators (Binghamton, NY) 2–1. The game set an AHL attendance record with 21,508 people making history.
[ The title sponsor of the game was Mirabito Energy Products with other prime sponsors including Time Warner Cable, Toyota, Labatt Blue, Coca-Cola, Dunkin Donuts, Wynit, Syracuse Conventions and Visitors Bureau and Renaissance Syracuse Hotel.][
]
2010–11
The second outdoor AHL game, known as the Whale Bowl, was held between the Providence Bruins and the recently rechristened Connecticut Whale on February 19, 2011, at Rentschler Field
Rentschler Field was an airport in East Hartford, Connecticut in use from 1933 to 1999. Originally a military facility, later a private corporate airport, it was decommissioned in 1999, after which the football stadium of the same name was bui ...
in East Hartford. The game was held one day before the NHL's 2011 Heritage Classic
The 2011 Heritage Classic was a regular season outdoor National Hockey League (NHL) game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames. The game was played at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on February 20, 2011. The Flame ...
and Hockey Day in America celebrations, and took place as part of USA Hockey
USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...
's Hockey Weekend Across America
Hockey Weekend Across America is an annual event devised by USA Hockey to promote the game of ice hockey in the United States. The weekend is capped by "Hockey Day in America", with broadcasts of National Hockey League games on the national networ ...
promotions. The Whale Bowl was a highlight of a multiple-day "Whalers Hockey Fest" organized by the Whale in honor of the former Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...
; prior to the game, two other hockey games were held on the outdoor surface, including a college hockey game between Atlantic Hockey Association
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) is an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other ...
rivals Army Black Knights and American International College
American International College (AIC) is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts.
History
American International College was originally established on July 18, 1885, as the French Protestant College by Rev. Calvin E. Amaron, who soug ...
(Army won 4–1), as well as an alumni game between alumni of the Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
and Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...
(which ended in a 4–4 tie) which drew 10,000 fans. 28,600 ticket were in the market, 21,673 tickets were sold for the feature event, but only about 15,234 fans actually showed up at the stadium to see the game. The Providence Bruins defeated the Connecticut Whale in a shootout, 5–4.
2011–12
AHL teams scheduled two outdoor games for the 2011–12 season, one in the United States and another in Canada (a first for the series).
The first of the two was scheduled for January 6, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The ...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Pennsylvania. The Adirondack Phantoms
The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center and ...
(who formerly played in Philadelphia and are the farm team to the Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
), faced the Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...
(themselves a former Flyers farm club). The Phantoms scored with 20.8 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime before Shane Harper
Shane Steven Harper (born February 14, 1993) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He is known for playing Spencer on ''Good Luck Charlie'' as well as Josh Wheaton in the independent Christian film '' God's Not Dead''. His self-titled d ...
scored 58 seconds into overtime giving the Phantoms a 4–3 victory. The game was held in conjunction with the 2012 NHL Winter Classic
The 2012 NHL Winter Classic (known via corporate sponsorship as the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic) was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game, part of the Winter Classic series, played on January 2, 2012, at Citizens Bank P ...
, which was held at the same venue four days prior. The game set an AHL attendance record with 45,653 fans attending, more than double the previous record of 21,673.
Another outdoor game was held at Ivor Wynne Stadium
Ivor Wynne Stadium (formerly Civic Stadium) was a Canadian football stadium located at the corner of Balsam and Beechwood avenues, two blocks west of Gage Avenue North in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The stadium was the home of the Hamilton Tiger ...
in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
, which featured a match-up between the Toronto Marlies
The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...
and the Hamilton Bulldogs
The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purcha ...
, on January 21, 2012. A crowd of 20,565 spectators watched the Marlies beat the Bulldogs, 7–2. Included in the festivities were two college hockey
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...
games hosted by the Brock Badgers
The Brock Badgers are the athletics teams that represent Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. To date, the Badgers have won 41 National Championships and 78 Ontario Championships, and are members of the OUA, U Sports, CUFLA, CURC, OIWFA and ...
: a men's test against the Waterloo Warriors
The Waterloo Warriors are the athletic teams that represent the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The Warriors have found success over certain spans in football, hockey, rugby, golf and basketball among others, and the Warrior ...
and a women's contest against the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks. The event was known as the "Steeltown Showdown" in reference to Hamilton's steel mills.
2012–13
On March 24, 2012, the AHL and the Hershey Bears announced via Twitter that the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barr ...
and the Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...
were to play the 2013 Capital BlueCross AHL Outdoor Classic on January 20, 2013. The game was played at Hersheypark Stadium
Hersheypark Stadium is a stadium located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on the grounds of Hersheypark. It opened on May 18, 1939.
It is used as a sporting facility, concert venue and location for various other large functions (including a birthday gal ...
in Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey.
The community is lo ...
. Hershey took the lead in the second period but the Penguins scored a goal in the third to send the game to overtime. Paul Thompson would score in overtime, winning the game 2–1 for the Penguins. The game was played before a crowd of 17,311 spectators.
As a result of the 2012–13 NHL lockout
The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barg ...
, a second planned outdoor game between the Grand Rapids Griffins
The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...
and Toronto Marlies
The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...
, to be held in Detroit's Comerica Park
Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium.
History Construction
Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the c ...
on December 30, 2012, as part of the NHL Winter Classic, was canceled. (The scheduled game was moved indoors to Van Andel Arena
Van Andel Arena is a 12,000 plus seat multi-purpose arena, situated in the Heartside district of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. The arena attracted over five million patrons in its first 5 years, 1996–2001. It is home to the Grand Rapi ...
.)
2013–14
The Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...
hosted the Frozen Frontier on December 13, 2013, taking on the Lake Erie Monsters
The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...
at Frontier Field
Innovative Field (originally known as Frontier Field) is a baseball stadium located at One Morrie Silver Way in downtown Rochester, New York. It has been the home of the Rochester Red Wings of the International League since 1997. The park opened ...
. The game kicked off a 10-day festival that included college hockey games hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private research university in the town of Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional ...
men's and women's teams, high school hockey contests, and a matchup between Americans alumni and the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team
The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team is an independent barnstorm (sports), barnstorming hockey (and occasionally basketball) team located in Buffalo, New York. Its roster consists entirely of retired National Hockey League players, mostly former ...
. The Americans announced their participation on March 21, 2013. Each team wore throwback uniform
Throwback uniforms, throwback jerseys, retro kits or heritage guernseys are sports uniforms styled to resemble the uniforms that a team wore in the past. One-time or limited-time retro uniforms are sometimes produced to be worn by teams in games ...
s for the event, with the Monsters donning a jersey worn by their predecessors, the Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team.
*Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978
*Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...
.
One year after their game had been originally scheduled, the Grand Rapids Griffins hosted the Toronto Marlies at Comerica Park on December 30, 2013, as part of the Hockeytown Winter Festival leading up to the 2014 NHL Winter Classic
The 2014 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game, part of the Winter Classic series, played on January 1, 2014 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The visiting Toronto Maple Leafs defeated t ...
. The Marlies won in a shootout, 4–3, to become the first team ever to win two AHL outdoor games.
2014–15
In lieu of an outdoor game, the stadium showcase for the 2014–15 season was the Toyota Frozen Dome Classic, which was hosted (as was the 2010 Outdoor Classic) by the Syracuse Crunch. This game was played at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse and featured the Crunch defeating the Utica Comets
The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wi ...
2–1 in front of 30,175 fans (an indoor attendance record for professional hockey in the United States) on November 22, 2014.
2015–16
On December 18, 2015, the Stockton Heat hosted the Bakersfield Condors
The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home ...
in an outdoor game called the Golden State Hockey Rush at Raley Field
Sutter Health Park is the home ballpark of the Sacramento River Cats Minor League Baseball team, which is a member of the Pacific Coast League. Known as Raley Field from 2000 to 2019, the facility was built on the site of old warehouses and rail ...
in West Sacramento, California
West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. It is a fast-growing community; the ...
. Stockton defeated Bakersfield 3–2 in front of 9,357 fans.
2016–17
For the second consecutive season the AHL played an outdoor game in California. The Bakersfield Condors were named as hosts for their second outdoor game against the Ontario Reign
The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Ontario, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings, the team plays ...
. It was held on January 7, 2017, at Bakersfield College's Memorial Stadium and was called the Condorstown Outdoor Classic. The game went on as scheduled despite the sometimes heavy rain towards the beginning of the game causing water to cover the ice. The Condors went on to defeat the Reign 3–2 in overtime.
2017–18
The 2018 Outdoor Classic was hosted by the Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...
as part of their 80th anniversary season. The game was held on January 20, 2018, at Hersheypark Stadium
Hersheypark Stadium is a stadium located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on the grounds of Hersheypark. It opened on May 18, 1939.
It is used as a sporting facility, concert venue and location for various other large functions (including a birthday gal ...
against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey L ...
.
A second Outdoor Classic, in conjunction with the NHL 100 Classic
The NHL 100 Classic (branded as the Scotiabank NHL 100 Classic for sponsorship reasons) was a regular season outdoor National Hockey League (NHL) game held on December 16, 2017. The game featured the Ottawa Senators playing the Montreal Canadi ...
, was also under consideration with the recently transplanted Belleville Senators potentially hosting the event at TD Place Stadium
TD Place Stadium (originally Lansdowne Park and formerly Frank Clair Stadium) is an outdoor stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at Lansdowne Park, on the southern edge of The Glebe neighbourhood, where Bank Street crosses the R ...
at Lansdowne Park, but did not make the schedule.
2020-21
After two seasons without an outdoor game, the Utica Comets
The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wi ...
planned to be hosting the AIS Empire State Classic between the Comets and the Syracuse Crunch on February 13, 2021. The game will be played at the Griffiss Business & Technology Park in Rome, New York
Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which li ...
. However, with the delayed start to the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the game was never held and has yet to be re-scheduled.
List of AHL outdoor games
See also
* NHL Heritage Classic
The NHL Heritage Classic (french: La Classique Héritage de la LNH) is one of the series of regular season outdoor games played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Unlike the NHL's other two series of outdoor games, the NHL Winter Classic and t ...
* NHL Winter Classic
*List of outdoor ice hockey games
Playing hockey games outdoors—in soccer, football and baseball stadiums—is an increasingly popular trend for junior ice hockey, junior, college, professional and international competitions in the 21st century. The popularity of outdoor ga ...
References
{{NHL outdoor games