"Life is about moments. You don't remember everything; you remember moments." Mike Babcock, Detroit Redwings Coach
Frozen Fenway was a competition born out of the heritage of hockey but more directly, the 2010, NHL Winter Classic.
That Winter Classic that took place in a season that ended with Boston's historic collapse in their semifinal series vs. the Philadelphia Flyers was the highlight of the season for Bruins fans as in one beautiful afternoon, the Bruins and Flyers combined to score 3 goals, log the first fight in Winter Classic history as well as the scoring of the first OT winner in Winter Classic history. But that 2010 Winter Classic gave Boston more than just 2 points in the standings and a night of celebration.
That 2010 Winter Classic added a lasting tradition to the historic sports scene of Boston Massachusetts and a lasting tradition that already in its 4th year does not look to be going anywhere. Known by its literal name, Frozen Fenway is a 2 week-long festival of hockey and winter in New England the highlight of which being an assortment of college hockey games that this year includes 8 different Hockey East teams in 4 different games. The first of those 4 games kicked off Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park and reminded hockey fans why they love outdoor hockey.
Fact is very few sports feel as much of a connection to its roots when they return to those roots than hockey. Nearly every Canadian kid and most American hockey players in this part of the country have all played on an outdoor rink and frankly, the stories, the memories and the pure ways these games are played proves just that.
Players play like 6 foot tall 200 pound children and truly enjoy every minute of these games as repeated time and time again, it is fun to remember your days on the pond as they are connected to this day surrounded by fans snow and chilling air and that thrill will, when experienced sincerely by every player present will undoubtedly race out into that uplifting crowd. Such was the case Wednesday afternoon in Ann Arbor meaning that that game truly did better the popularity of outdoor hockey. To simplify, the good people running Frozen Fenway no matter how disconnected from the Winter Classic should be quite proud of what their snowy, windy, freezing cold branch of hockey has become.
An outdoor game such as Frozen Fenway or the Winter Classic, when focused around the right aspect of the game is one bent on creating moments and through the first few years of Frozen Fenway that has happened. We have seen gritty games where choppy ice has forced players to spend the majority of the game with their heads aimed at the ground meaning that the prevalence of huge hits has been anything but minuscule. In 2010 we saw an unprecedented total of 16 games played on the ice surface stretched between 1st and 3rd base and a year after that we saw our first OT winner in Frozen Fenway history when the BC Eagles defeated the Huskies in thrilling late game fashion.
However, as we near a rather strange edition of hockey in Boston, we will be staring down the barrel of a true Bostonian hockey game. Just 2 days after a herculean nor-easter dumped close to 15 inches of snow on-top of Fenway Park, a stinging cold descended on the city handing -15 degree wind chills to players and fans there for Fridays high school games and then 7 degree wind chills to the near full house of screaming present for Saturday's double header. This near historic cold not only tests the true will of hockey fans but ironically, the integrity of the ice surface.
The latter of those tests might pluck a nerve with some. Frankly, there always seems to be something wrong with and outdoor surface and yet no one ever complains mainly because it never lives up to worry cast to it during a pre-game routine. In 2010 the game time air temperature eclipsed 40 degrees and even then we were given that thrilling Winter Classic and a skillful 5 goal college hockey game the next night. Even in the 2013 Winter Classic, the 4 inches of snow that fell during the game were handled professionally and many on a Redwings team that has already played in 3 outdoor games in the past decade labeled the game as sporting some of the best ice in any outdoor game they had ever been part of.
One of the most important parts of keeping professional outdoor rinks professional grade is being willing to stay on your toes. NHL head of outdoor rink construction, Dan Craig can attest to that.
“I take care of the smaller details and I’m watching what they do to make sure they are doing it the way we want it to be prepared,” Craig said in a post Winter Classic interview. “If they see anything that has to be tweaked, they come to me and I tell the engineers what has to be tweaked and what doesn’t.”
While any other competitive hockey game is focused on the end product, the score, and the statistics produced, a professional outdoor showcase of competitive hockey is a whole different beast. Games like these are intended to produce moments from the first to final horns and no matter which such game you choose to evaluate it is a rare occasion when that is not the case.
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