Winter Classic: Outdoor Hockey a Big Success in Buffalo

Yesterday the NHL presented its Winter Classic Outdoor Hockey Game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres. 

Before the game, snow was falling, which would affect the first part of the action. 

In good weather, players were pleased with the ice conditions, with some of the Sabres going so far as saying that it might be better then their home barn, HBC Arena.

But the snow would cause problems—especially for players who use composite sticks.  When snow gets on these sticks, it causes them to become very slippery. In an effort to prevent this, the Sabres had a Cloth Closet built on the bench to keep their sticks dry. 

The snow also caused vision issues for the players wearing visors. Sergei Gonchar, among other players, even considered removing his visor in an effort to overcome this problem.  But in the end, no one removed their visors.

When it was time for the teams to finally hit the ice for warmups, they were accompanied by the sound of bagpipes and drums. The teams were welcomed by a huge cheer and standing ovation for warmups. 

The Penguins were sporting their light-blue retro uniforms, with the Sabres sporting their vintage sweaters as well.  The starting goaltenders were Ryan Miller for Buffalo, and Ty Conklin—who also played in the 2003 Heritage Classic as a member of the Edmonton Oilers—started for Pittsburgh.

After the introductions, it was game time. Again, the crowd of 71,219 hockey fans went crazy, even with the snow falling.  Both the Canadian anthem and God Bless America were sang, and there was a huge American and Canadian flag at both ends of the field, just outside the ice surface.

It didnt take long after the opening faceoff for the action to start.  Sidney Crosby, who won the opening draw, made a hard rush to the net, had the puck poke-checked off his stick—right to Colby Armstrong, who potted the rebound to give the Pens a 1-0 lead, just 21 seconds into the game.

In addition to their timeout, each coach was given one dry ice sweep with the zamboni.  Buffalo used their sweep at 10:08 of the first period.  Afterwards, the speed and tempo picked up and passes started flying around the ice like a regular indoor game.  Both teams had numerous scoring chances, with the Pens hitting two posts, and the Sabres one.

The first period ended with Pittsburgh leading 1-0. The Pens went 0-3 on the power play, and the Sabres went 0-1.  Shots on goal in the first period were 11-9, in favor of Pittsurgh.

Just like in the first period, the second period action started quick as well. At the 1:25 mark, Brian Campbell was the recipient of a beautiful pass from Tim Connolly and fired a shot on the top-corner glove side of Ty Conklin, evening the game at one goal apiece. Daniel Paille also assisted on the goal.

The second period was all Sabres, as they outshot the Pens 14-2.  Buffalo had many chances to take the lead and gain control of the game. One of their best opportunities came when Derek Roy took a baseball swing at the puck, but found iron with about seven minutes left in the frame.  There was an ice sweep at 10:50 of the period, and the teams went to the dressing rooms in a 1-1 deadlock.

The third period started, but with an odd exception:  The buzzer was to sound at the 10 minute mark and the teams were to switch ends.  This was to make the game fair for both teams by giving them 30 minutes attack time at each end. 

The action was packed during the last minute period, with one of the biggest saves coming with only 6.4 seconds left.  Thomas Vanek deflected a shot on goal but Ty Conklin managed to glove the puck for a faceoff.  At the buzzer signaled the end of regulation, Colby Armstrong of the Pens was called for hooking, giving Buffalo a two-minute four-on-three advantage to start overtime.

 The overtime period started, with the Sabres working the puck around on the power play, but the Pens killed it off.  There were no goals in the exciting overtime period which meant that the 71,219 fans were going to have a shootout. 

In the shootout, the goalies both chose to use the same end to shoot at, and the Sabres shot first.  The first shooter was Ales Kotalik, who beat Ty Conklin to make it 1-0.  The next shooter was Erik Christianson, who was denied by Ryan Miller.  Tim Connolly took the next shot for Buffalo, but was denied. 

The Pens sent Kris Letang up for their next shot, and he beat Miller on a pretty deke to tie the shootout at one.  Maxim Afiniganov was next for the Sabres, but Conklin stood tall to give his team a chance at the W.  And who better to be shooting for victory than Sidney Crosby.  Crosby hit the blueline and put a small move on Miller around the hash marks, beating him through the five hole to win the Winter Classic. 

Crosby with the shootout winner, and with his assist on the first goal, played a regular shift and was named the game's first star.  Everyone who participated in this game enjoyed the experience, and I believe that the NHL should look into doing this every year. 

It's great for the fans, teams, players, and coaches—and most of all, it's great for the game of hockey.