NCAA: Are Outdoor College Hockey Games Getting to Be Overkill?

With Michigan's 4-1 win over Ohio State at the Frozen Diamond Faceoff on Sunday at Progressive Field in Ohio, and Frozen Fenway finally wrapping up the day before with Boston College's 2-1 victory over Northeastern in Massachusetts, the NCAA has finally seen the last of its outdoor hockey games.

This season, anyway.

The outdoor ice hasn't even totally melted yet, and talk has already started up of hosting games next year at Michigan Stadium, or even Comerica Park in Detroit. This is after a couple of weeks that started with the the NHL's Winter Classic in Philadelphia followed by four NCAA Division I men's college games in Boston, and then one more outing in Cleveland between the then No. 2-ranked Buckeyes and No. 15 Wolverines.

The novelty of playing outside has worn off, but both the NHL and NCAA keep pushing the great outdoors as if it was the greatest thing since the first Zamboni started up.

The NHL, though, plays just the Winter Classic around New Year's Day, and every couple of years also hosts the Heritage Classic in Canada. One or two outdoor games every year isn't too bad. It's something to look forward to, like a Super Bowl of sorts.

The NCAA, though, seems to think that more outdoor hockey is better—which it isn't. It's a different game outdoors. Besides the weather and the wind to contend with, the ice surface has proven to be not as smooth as the indoor variant, thanks to the elements, which often results in a choppier game most of the time.

Now's there talk of hosting the Great Lakes Invitational, normally held at Joe Louis Arena, outdoors. Can the Frozen Four be far behind?

No, and not because of the poor showcase when the Frozen Four was held indoors at Ford Field in Detroit in 2010. April weather, even in the northern U.S. and the Midwest, is just too unpredictable. This year's final foursome event is slated to take place Florida, an event that could only be played indoors.

The game that started the outdoor craze, the Cold War at Michigan State in 2001, almost didn't take place because of warm temperatures in early October that year. Thankfully the thermometer fell in time that fall, and outdoor games are now wisely held in December and January. That doesn't mean we need one seemingly every week during the Christmas break.

The novelty, though, is out of the bag, and the end doesn't appear to be in sight, at least not as far as the NCAA is concerned. Guess we'd all just better get used to it—and bundle up while we're at it.