From Backyard Rinks to NHL Tradition
In Canada, and in some parts of the United States, hockey began as an outdoor sport. Whether played on frozen ponds in family backyards or on city-run rinks throughout the winter months, the outdoor game holds a nostalgic appeal for those who spent their childhoods anxiously awaiting the season’s first freeze. The uncertainty of weather and ice quality, however, has traditionally kept professional games indoors. Prior to 2003, the only games involving NHL teams played outdoors were exhibition matches. Two of these took place in the 1950s and saw an NHL club face off against community players. Only one pitted NHL franchises against each other: a September 1991 matchup between the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings, played on a rink built outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
As technology developed and the ability to produce artificial ice improved, the NHL began adding outdoor games to its regular-season schedule: the Heritage Classic, played between Canadian teams, and the Winter Classic and Stadium Series, which have featured teams from across North America. The 2016 Winter Classic saw the Boston Bruins play the Montreal Canadiens, marking the third of the Bruins’ outdoor games, though only two counted in the standings.
The Bruins’ Outdoor Games
The 1956 Exhibition in Newfoundland
The first outdoor game played by the Bruins could hardly be called such. It was April 1956, and the team had just finished the 1955-56 NHL season. While in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, the Bruins took the ice on an outdoor artificial surface for an exhibition — one that would prove even less traditional than the first outdoor exhibition, played between the Detroit Red Wings and the Marquette Pirates, a team formed at Marquette Branch Prison, in 1954. In that game, the teams stopped keeping score after the first period, with the Red Wings already leading 18-0. The Bruins, meanwhile, were following the then-tradition of playing an exhibition tour after failing to make the NHL postseason. Four local teams from Conception Bay took turns playing the Bruins in a scrimmage-style game that ended in a free-for-all, with all 23 local players taking the ice to face the Bruins at once. Over the course of the entire game, only one goal was scored against the NHL club; aside from that tally, no score was kept.
The 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park
The Bruins’ two Winter Classic appearances were far more traditional affairs. Both took place on home ice, in the sense that they were held in Massachusetts. The 2010 Winter Classic was played at Fenway Park in Boston. Though attended by over 38,000 fans — about twice the attendance of a typical NHL game — it remains the smallest venue to host a Winter Classic through the 2015-16 NHL season. The Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime, 2-1, on a game-winning goal from left wing Marco Sturm.
The 2016 Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium
The Bruins did not fare as well in the 2016 Winter Classic. Held at the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, and attended by roughly 67,000 fans, the game was the first in Winter Classic history to be decided by more than two goals, as the visiting Montreal Canadiens beat the Bruins 5-1. Matt Beleskey’s goal early in the third period kept the game from also becoming the first Winter Classic shutout.
A Tradition Rooted in Nostalgia
In terms of points earned, the Winter Classic is no different from any other game. For many players and fans, however, it’s a special event with far more meaning than the two points up for grabs. It’s a nostalgic, exciting game that puts hockey back out in the fresh air, at the whim of the elements, much like the pond hockey games many players grew up playing. Following the 2016 Winter Classic, the Bruins became the sixth team to play in two of these events, joining the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, and Detroit Red Wings. The Bruins are also the first team to have home-ice advantage in both of their Winter Classic appearances — fitting for an Original Six team that experimented with outdoor play long before the league made it a tradition. The Bruins’ outdoor games, though rare, capture something the modern indoor game rarely does: hockey at the mercy of the elements, the way many players first fell in love with the sport.
