Hockey Weekend Across America is an annual event devised by

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 ...

to promote the game of

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The weekend is capped by "Hockey Day in America", with broadcasts of

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 ...

games on the national networks of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

2011

In 2011, each day of the three-day event had a particular theme. Friday was "Wear Your Favorite Hockey Jersey Day". Saturday, "Bring a Friend to the Rink Day", featured a number of "Try Hockey for Free" clinics throughout the country. Sunday was "Celebrate Local Hockey Heroes Day". Four NHL games were broadcast on NBC on Sunday. The first three were regional games broadcast to specific regions of the country:

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

, Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings at

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. The fourth game,

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

, was broadcast nationally. Coincidentally, in neighboring

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, there were also significant hockey celebrations that weekend, associated with the

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 ...

held the same day as ''Hockey Day in America''. The two events were unrelated, but the NHL scheduled the Sunday games so that the regional doubleheader led into the Heritage Classic, forming a tripleheader. 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 ...

held the "Whale Bowl," the second annual installment of its outdoor game series, on the Saturday of the same weekend. The Providence Bruins defeated the host team Connecticut Whale 5–4 in a shootout in front of 15,234 fans at Rentschler Field. Included in the same set of festivities were two other outdoor game, one involving college hockey teams and another an alumni game featuring former members 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 ...

, the namesakes (and in the case of the Bruins, the NHL affiliate) of the two teams participating in the Whale Bowl. Sunday's "Hockey Day in America" was headquartered at McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink within

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center nea ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where the Stanley Cup was on display.

2012

Hockey Weekend Across America followed a similar format for 2012. Hockey Day in America, held February 19, featured the Sabres hosting the Penguins, the Red Wings hosting the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

, and St. Louis at Chicago in the regional action; the Wild hosted the Bruins in the nationally televised afternoon game, while the New Jersey Devils traveled to face the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in the nightcap on

NBC Sports Network NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming prim ...

. Coverage was headquartered at Landmark Plaza in St. Paul, Minnesota. The TV coverage earned the highest ratings for a non-

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 ...

regular season game since NBC took over the broadcast contract. All 30 AHL teams played on February 19, but no outdoor games were scheduled at any level.

2013

The 2013 Hockey Day in America, held on February 17, featured three nationally televised games: Pittsburgh at Buffalo and the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

at Chicago on NBC, and Washington at New York Rangers on NBCSN. NBC headquartered its coverage from

Wollman Rink Wollman Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. It is named after the Wollman family who donated the funds for its original construction. The rink is open for ice skating from late October t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

2014

The 2014 Hockey Weekend Across America was scheduled on March 1–2, later than previous years due to the Winter Olympic hockey tournament in mid-February. NBC Sports televised games on both days. On Saturday Night, March 1, NBC televised the closing game of the

2014 NHL Stadium Series The 2014 NHL Stadium Series (branded the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series) was a series of four outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) games played during the 2013–14 season. This series is distinct from the NHL Winter Classi ...

between the Pittsburgh and Chicago. On the next day, NBC had Washington at Philadelphia; while NBCSN televised the 2014 Heritage Classic between the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

and the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, followed by Boston at the NY Rangers.

2015

The 2015 Hockey Weekend Across America was held on February 21–22, during the 35th Anniversary of the " Miracle on Ice". Members of the U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey Team, who defeated the Soviet Union national team during the medal-round at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

, reunited at the

Herb Brooks Arena The Herb Brooks Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Lake Placid, New York. This surface, along with the USA Rink, was built for the 1980 Winter Olympics. About The arena hosted various events during the 1980 Winter Olympics, most famously the ice ...

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburg ...

. NBC also headquartered its coverage from Lake Placid. NBCSN televised the

2015 NHL Stadium Series The 2015 NHL Stadium Series was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game, part of the Stadium Series of games held at football or baseball stadiums. The Los Angeles Kings played against the San Jose Sharks at Levi's Stadium i ...

between Los Angeles and the San Jose on February 21. The next day featured three nationally televised games: Washington at Philadelphia and Boston at Chicago on NBC, and the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

at Minnesota on NBCSN.

2016

The 2016 weekend was held on February 21, with three games under the ''Hockey Day in America'' banner being played on Sunday, February 21: Pittsburgh at Buffalo followed by a

2016 NHL Stadium Series The 2016 NHL Stadium Series (branded as the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series for sponsorship reasons) was a series of two outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) games played during the 2015–16 NHL season. The 2016 Stadium Serie ...

game between Chicago and Minnesota on NBC, and then Detroit at the NY Rangers on NBCSN. The Minnesota Wild destroyed the Blackhawks 6–1 in the outdoor game. While The Rangers beat the Red Wings 1–0 in OT. The Penguins also beat the Sabres 4–3.

2017

The 2017 weekend was held on February 19, with NBC and NBCSN combining to show a quadruple header for their ''Hockey Day in America'' coverage on Sunday, February 19. The action started on NBC with Washington at New York Rangers at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by Detroit at Pittsburgh at 3:30 p.m. ET. The action then shifted to NBCSN with Chicago at Buffalo at 6 p.m. ET, and concluded with Boston at San Jose 8:30 p.m. ET.

2019

The 2019 weekend was held on February 17, with NBC and NBCSN combining to show a triple-header for their ''Hockey Day in America'' coverage on Sunday, February 17. The action started on NBC with the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the NY Rangers, followed by a game between St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild. The action shifts to NBCSN for a conclusion with Philadelphia at Detroit. Also, as part of the new ''Hockey Day in America'' coverage on Sunday, "Inside the Glass" reporter ''

Pierre McGuire Regis Pierre McGuire (born August 8, 1961) is an American-Canadian ice hockey executive who last served as senior vice-president of player development for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously worked as a televis ...

'' will now call the early game of ''Hockey Day in America'' (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC) while Mike Emrick,

Eddie Olczyk Edward Walter Olczyk Jr. (; born August 16, 1966) is a former center in the National Hockey League for 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He ...

, and "Inside-the-Glass" reporter ''

Brian Boucher Brian Boucher ( ; born January 2, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who is a game and studio analyst on national ESPN and ABC games and also Philadelphia Flyers games on NBC Sports Philadelphia. He played 13 season ...

'' will now call the second game of the doubleheader (3:30 p.m. ET; NBC). McGuire joins the lead team of Emrick and Olczyk on all other ''NHL Game of the Week'' games.

2020

The 2020 Hockey Weekend Across America was held on February 15–16 and commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice. NBC Sports televised games on both days. On Saturday night, February 15, NBC broadcast the

2020 NHL Stadium Series The 2020 NHL Stadium Series was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game, part of the Stadium Series of games that took place on February 15, 2020. The game featured the Los Angeles Kings and the Colorado Avalanche at Falcon ...

between the

and

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

. The next day, NBC broadcast Detroit at Pittsburgh, followed by Boston at New York Rangers, while NBCSN showed St. Louis at Nashville.

2021

Due to the

coronavirus 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 identifie ...

, the NHL reduced the regular season to 56 games. Consequently, the 2021 weekend was in March, with NBC and NBCSN combining to show a quadruple header for their ''Hockey Day in America'' coverage on Sunday, March 7. This was also NBC's final season covering NHL games, as the national television contracts in the U.S. were awarded to

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

/ ABC and

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

effective the 2021–22 season. Neither ESPN nor TNT chose to continue NBC's tradition of covering special NHL broadcasts as part of ''Hockey Day in America''.

2022

References

External links

Official website