Tahoe outdoor NHL games could lead to more picturesque sites Follow Us
Kay C. James
Question of the Day
By JOSH DUBOW - Associated Press - Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Outdoor games have become the the marquee event of the NHL season ever since the league staged the first Winter Classic in Buffalo back in 2008.
There have been games at iconic baseball stadiums like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park and others at college football cathedrals like Notre Dame Stadium or the Big House at Michigan.
None of the 30 previous outdoor games had quite a setup like this season, when the league will stage two games this weekend on the 18th fairway of a golf course on the shores of Lake Tahoe, with the Sierra Nevada Mountains towering in the background.
Lake Tahoe outdoor NHL games could lead to more picturesque sites
By JOSH DUBOW article
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - APRIL 11: Fans of the Winnipeg Jets welcome their team to the ice as they took on the Minnesota Wild in Game One of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 11, 2018 at Bell MTS Place i
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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Outdoor games have become the the marquee event of the NHL season ever since the league staged the first Winter Classic in Buffalo back in 2008.
There have been games at iconic baseball stadiums like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park and others at college football cathedrals like Notre Dame Stadium or the Big House at Michigan.
Two games this weekend, including the Bruins vs. the Flyers on Sunday, are scheduled to be played on a golf course in Lake Tahoe rather than a stadium.
In each of the 30 NHL games that have been played outdoors since 2003, the event has been held in a stadium that has the necessary infrastructure to build an ice rink and hold fans.
But given that this year s event will be happening in all but the middle of nowhere along the California-Nevada border, everything had to be built from scratch. With the lack of proper infrastructure available, the process of building an ice rink in a wilderness area isn t easy, NHL senior manager of facilities operations Derek King said. The views are amazing; it s pretty tough to work, actually, King told NHL.com. You ve got the mountains and the ski hills. The resort here is beautiful, so it s definitely an exciting place to be. But it s going to look amazing. I think this is truly going to be one of the most unique games, so it s going to be exciting to see on game day.
With multiple games getting moved around before they even dropped the puck, the Rockford IceHogs 2021 AHL season got off to a rough start … And then they actually did drop the puck, and it was even rougher. Over the weekend, the team dropped their first two games of the season against the Wolves, falling 5-4 on Saturday and 5-2 on Sunday.
With three assists in Saturday’s loss, veteran defensemen Cody Franson, who was named as an alternate captain (along with John Quenneville), leads the IceHogs in points after their first two games of the year.
Wyatt Kalynuk scores his first pro goal as the IceHogs score on the power play again. Cody Franson sets up the one-timer. pic.twitter.com/ADuG5IA3AE