So who caught the game between Montreal and Edmonton today? I must say it was a very interesting experience (probably more interesting if you were there freezing your ass off in the -20 degree celsius weather)
I’m not sure it could ever work except as a once and a while thing for the Canadian and Northern American teams but it had a certain quality about it I enjoyed though I can’t quite put my finger on it yet. I’m sure it is more than the novelty of the game. Still Anyone else watch and what did you think, any chance this could happen more or should happen ever again?
They should definitely do it again, with the condition that Don Cherry doesn’t wear that suit again. Yikes!
I thought that it was pretty cool, on some level it reminded me of my misspent youth watching the neighbourhood cute boys playing hockey on the outdoor rink. There’s just something about it, that all cheesy cliches aside, is very Canadian - freezing your arse off, watching a hockey game.
I’ve really drifted away from watching hockey in the last decade or so (probably 'cause I live in Calgary, home of the super sucky Flames) but it kinda took me back to those “good ol days” when the Battle of Alberta really had some bite to it.
That said, I don’t think that I coulda made it through what, six hours of -20 degrees sitting in an outdoor stadium!
I was really looking forward to it, but my cable went just at the end of the old-timers game, and my reception on CBC is so fuzzy I could barely read the numbers on the backs of the players’ jerseys, let alone see the puck, which made the game a bit hard to follow. Still, the bits and pieces I watched were enjoyable, and I’m happy Montreal won since they’re my second favourite team behind the Canucks.
I think the main appeal of it, beyond the novelty factor, is just that it’s so very Canadian. Just a bunch of guys out freezing their asses off having fun (even if they are all arguably spoiled and over-paid), that’s something that appeals to all Canadians, even those of us on the west coast where we’re currently freaking out because it might just snow tonight. Plus Theodore wearing that toque over his helmet was cute.
I’m not sure whether a repeat of this would be as special, but you can bet after tonight’s success it will happen elsewhere - almost certainly all the other Canadian cities except Vancouver, possibly some of the American cities as well. The main question probably isn’t if, it’s when, since it’s probably too late to organize anything else for this season, and who knows when we’ll have NHL hockey again after that.
The game had some of the best camera angles I’ve ever seen, it really brought you closer to the action. Hopefully they can learn from this, because it seems that some games have the cameras too far and the colours seem rather dull.
I loved Theodore’s tuque(note to the AP: it’s not a “ski cap”). Unfortunately, I missed most of the game because I actually had a chance to get off campus and do something that night. It was a great idea, but I hope that this doesn’t become a regular thing. It seemed to be more of a once-in-a-lifetime thing, not something you’d do every year.
Although, seeing an NHL game on the Rideau Canal would be awesome(Sportsnet suggested that).
I loved the old timers game. To see all those legends out there, making the plays, freezing their ass off, and having a ton of fun, to me, that’s what hockey is all about! One of the most enjoyable games I’ve seen this year, and I’m a die hard hockey fan.
Why don’t they try this down south where the weather is warmer? There are several southern teams (Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte) that would be much better to do this than cold assed Edmonton. It may also draw new fans who would come, just to be a part of this gimmicky history and become fans. Was not this the idea in the first place? There are only 6 teams out of 30 that play in Canada now anyway.
Several years ago, they played a woman’s college basketball game outside in a football stadium. I believe the two teams were Tennessee and Arizona.
My guess is that if they tried to do it further south, the ice would melt. It’s a lot tougher to keep outdoor ice frozen, isn’t it? Heck, the surface of this one wasn’t perfect.
I think they should have more of these, and I think they should include the Canadian teams as often as possible. Because Lord knows how many Canadian teams there’ll be in a year or so.
I say no. Doing it again and again will just cheapen the experience of the first one. Plus, I don’ tthink the league will allow it…not for regular season games, anyway -maye exhibition.
The only thing I would have changed is the arena…I wish it was done in a smaller stadium so people could be closer. At least they could have erected a few levels of grandstands behind the ice. All that open space made it look add…plus the fans at such a distance, I don’t think they had a chance to really get into the game. It seemed quiet on TV.
I think that the problem with the ice in this case was that it was too cold. The cold made the ice brittle, and the puck was harder than usual which made it bounce more.
The whole point to this game was to play in the cold! This is the way Canadians learned to play hockey. As I type, I can see a rink scraped out of the snow on the lake behind our house. The kids were out playing with it all night.
This is what hockey is all about - a cold night, frost in the air, and a bunch of kids racing around a frozen pond. That’s the atmosphere this game was trying to recreate, and it succeeded brilliantly. It really touched something deep inside Canadians. At work today, it was all anyone could talk about.
It wasn’t just about seeing all those Oiler and Canadien greats on the ice - it was about seeing them on the ice playing old time hockey, they way they grew up as kids.
Put this game in Atlanta in the sun with refrigerated ice-making, and all the magic would be gone. It would be meaningless.
BTW, they got unlucky with the temperature. Edmonton may be cold in the winter, but it’s not THAT cold. The average temperature this time of year is nowhere near that cold, and if they had hit the average it would have been absolutely perfect for outdoor hockey.
About the ice melting–the NHL played an outdoor exhibition game in Las Vegas a couple years ago. How, I don’t know, but they did.
Also, the previous record crowd for an NHL game was set at what is now Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Devil Dogs. Must have taken a lot of compressors to keep ice in a stadium of that size in a warm-weather site.
It’s a lot tougher to keep outdoor ice frozen, isn’t it? Heck, the surface of this one wasn’t perfect.