The 2014 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on January 1, 2014, at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The sixth edition of the Winter Classic, it matched the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings; the Maple Leafs defeated the Red Wings, 3–2, in a shootout to move past the Red Wings in the Atlantic Division. The game was televised nationally in Canada on CBC and nationally in the United States on NBC. The game set an NHL attendance record of 105,491, surpassing the previous record set during the 2008 NHL Winter Classic.Frigid temps, snow, deliver Classic screen NHL.com, January 2, 2014
The game was originally planned to be played on January 1, 2013, as the 2013 NHL Winter Classic, but was postponed until the following year due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout. The 2014 Winter Classic was one of six outdoor games held during the 2013–14 NHL season, which included the new 2014 NHL Stadium Series of four games and the 2014 Heritage Classic. These six games served as the NHL's premiere showcase games for the season as there was no All Star Game due to the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The event was the first Winter Classic to be held at a stadium dedicated solely to college football. It was also the first whose festivities were split between two locations, as the NHL Alumni Showdown and other side events were held on a second rink constructed at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.
Background
Initial announcement
After the success of "The Big Chill at the Big House" at Michigan Stadium on December 11, 2010, where Michigan's hockey team defeated Michigan State University, 5–0, outdoors in front of 104,173 spectators, interest began in also holding an NHL Winter Classic game there. On February 8, 2012, the University of Michigan Board of Regents authorized athletic director Dave Brandon to negotiate a contract with the NHL regarding the Winter Classic. On February 9, 2012, the NHL announced at Comerica Park that the 2013 Classic would take place at Michigan Stadium, while the Great Lakes Invitational would take place at Comerica Park. Some OHL and AHL games were also slated to be played at Comerica Park.
The NHL Alumni Showdown coaches were named on July 26, 2012. Former Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman along with assistant Barry Smith were to coach the Red Wings' alumni team. The pair of Bowman and Smith coached three Stanley Cup wins in Detroit. Former Maple Leaf coach Pat Quinn was to coach the Maple Leafs' alumni team, along with Red Kelly, Hall of Fame player and former Maple Leafs' coach.
The Red Wings-Maple Leafs matchup, an Original Six era rivalry, was the first time a United States city's team and a Canadian city's team faced each other in an outdoor NHL game. U.S. teams had not competed in the outdoor Heritage Classic games since their inception in 2003, and Canadian teams had not played in the Winter Classic, which the Heritage Classic spawned in 2009. The unexpectedly high television viewership from the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals (which featured the Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins) prompted the league and NBC to reconsider the conventional wisdom that a contest featuring a Canadian team would not draw as well as two U.S. teams in the United States. (NBC ratings do not count the network's millions of Canadian viewers.) It was this reconsideration that prompted an Ontario-Michigan Winter Classic.Johnston, Chris (December 30, 2013). NHL dreaming 'Big' for Winter Classic. Sportsnet. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
Cancellation and postponement
On November 2, 2012, the NHL cancelled the game due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout. The date for the cancellation came as a result of a deadline in the league's contract with Michigan Stadium, in which the league would have incurred additional expenses if they cancelled after November 2. During the announcement, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly stated that the 2014 Winter Classic and associated events would be awarded to Ann Arbor and Detroit and would also feature the Maple Leafs and Red Wings. The NHL then officially announced the game on April 7, 2013.
A divisional re-alignment that occurred the preceding offseason also made the Red Wings and Maple Leafs divisional rivals in the new Atlantic Division, which was renamed from the Northeast Division (the old Atlantic Division became the Metropolitan Division). Had the Winter Classic been played in 2013, it would have been the only meeting between the teams, as both were in separate conferences at the time (as division rivals, they can meet 4-5 times a year, ultimately playing 30 times over a seven-year period).
Game summary
The game remained scoreless until Daniel Alfredsson scored for the Red Wings at 13:14 of the second period. James van Riemsdyk tied the game for the Leafs with 37 seconds left in the second period. Early in the third, Tyler Bozak gave Toronto the lead. Justin Abdelkader then tied the game with 5:22 in regulation. The game eventually went into a shootout, where Bozak's goal proved to be the difference.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd DET Daniel Alfredsson (11) Henrik Zetterberg (22) and Brendan Smith (7) 13:14 1–0 DET TOR James van Riemsdyk (15) Phil Kessel (18) and Dion Phaneuf (12) 19:23 1–1 3rd TOR Tyler Bozak (5) Dion Phaneuf (13) 4:41 2–1 TOR DET Justin Abdelkader (5) Brendan Smith (8) 14:28 2–2 Overtime No scoring Shootout Team Shooter Goaltender Result SO Score DET Daniel Alfredsson Jonathan Bernier miss TOR James van Riemsdyk Jimmy Howard save DET Pavel Datsyuk Jonathan Bernier goal 1–0 DET TOR Joffrey Lupul Jimmy Howard goal 1–1 DET Tomas Tatar Jonathan Bernier save 1–1 TOR Tyler Bozak Jimmy Howard goal 2–1 TOR Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the season Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st DET Justin Abdelkader Cross-checking 6:39 2:00 TOR Joffrey Lupul Cross-checking 11:04 2:00 TOR Dion Phaneuf Holding 16:21 2:00 2nd TOR Jay McClement High-sticking 11:04 2:00 DET Jakub Kindl Closing hand on puck 17:23 2:00 3rd TOR James van Riemsdyk Hooking 11:45 2:00 Overtime None
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total Toronto 5 13 6 2 26 Detroit 13 14 14 2 43
Power play opportunities Team Goals/Opportunities Toronto 0/2 Detroit 0/4
Three star selectionsTeamPlayerStatistics 1st TOR Jonathan Bernier 41 Saves (.953) 2nd DET Jimmy Howard 24 Saves (.923) 3rd TOR Tyler Bozak 1 Goal
Team rosters
Toronto Maple Leafs # Player Position 45 Jonathan Bernier G 42 Tyler Bozak C 71 David Clarkson RW 29 Jerry D'Amigo LW 4 Cody Franson D 51 Jake Gardiner D 36 Carl Gunnarsson (A) D 24 Peter Holland C 43 Nazem Kadri C 81 Phil Kessel RW 41 Nikolai Kulemin LW 19 Joffrey Lupul (A) LW 11 Jay McClement (A) C 28 Colton Orr RW 3 Dion Phaneuf (C) D 15 Paul Ranger D 12 Mason Raymond LW 34 James Reimer G 44 Morgan Rielly D 21 James van Riemsdyk LWHead coach: Randy Carlyle
Detroit Red Wings # Player Position 8 Justin Abdelkader LW 11 Daniel Alfredsson RW 18 Joakim Andersson C 44 Todd Bertuzzi RW 71 Danny Cleary RW 13 Pavel Datsyuk (A) C 65 Danny DeKeyser D 17 Patrick Eaves RW 41 Luke Glendening RW 35 Jimmy Howard G 4 Jakub Kindl D 55 Niklas Kronwall (A) D 23 Brian Lashoff D 20 Drew Miller LW 34 Petr Mrazek G 14 Gustav Nyquist LW 27 Kyle Quincey D 2 Brendan Smith D 21 Tomas Tatar LW 40 Henrik Zetterberg (C) LWHead coach: Mike Babcock
James Reimer and Petr Mrazek dressed as the back-up goaltenders. Neither entered the game.
Scratches Toronto Maple Leafs: Mark Fraser, John-Michael Liles, Frazer McLaren Detroit Red Wings: Mikael Samuelsson, Jonas Gustavsson, Darren Helm
Officials Referees — Dan O'Halloran, Brian Pochmara Linesmen — Scott Driscoll, Mark Shewchyk
Liles trade
Despite taking the warmup and initially being pencilled in as a healthy scratch, John-Michael Liles found out early in the game that he had in fact been traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, alongside Dennis Robertson, for Tim Gleason. Gleason made his Leafs debut on January 7, 2014. Liles scored against his former team two days after Gleason's debut in a 6-1 Carolina win.
Television ratings The combined average television viewership for the 2014 NHL Winter Classic on NBC in the U.S., and CBC and RDS in Canada was 8.234 million viewers in North America, becoming the most watched regular season game ever. The previous highest combined average television viewership was 6.6 million viewers for the 2011 NHL Winter Classic. The 4.404 million average viewers for NBC's broadcast in the U.S. was the second-largest audience for an NHL regular season game since 1975. The 3.57 million average viewers for CBC's broadcast in Canada was the largest audience ever for an NHL regular season game in Canadian broadcast history. The game garnered a 2.5 rating, tying the 2009 NHL Winter Classic as the highest-rated NHL regular season game since 1975. The rating and viewership for the game were up 19% and 18%, respectively, compared to the 2012 NHL Winter Classic.2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic watched by record 8.2 million viewers across North America NHL.com, January 3, 2014
Entertainment Musical guests for the 2014 Winter Classic included The Zac Brown Band and Mayer Hawthorne.
Hockeytown Winter Festival
Comerica Park served as the venue for the 2013 Hockeytown Winter Festival, a two-week event that took place in Detroit leading up to the 2014 NHL Winter Classic.Frequently Asked Questions NHL.com, December 31, 2013 As part of this event, on December 27–28, the 2013 Great Lakes Invitational four-game tournament was held, with Western Michigan emerging as champion over in-state rival Michigan Tech.WMU hockey wins Great Lakes Invitational with gritty 1-0 win over Michigan Tech at Comerica Park MLive.com, December 29, 2013 On December 29, two OHL games were played, the first between the Windsor Spitfires and the Saginaw Spirit, and the second between the London Knights and the Plymouth Whalers. These were the first outdoor regular season games for the OHL. The Spitfires won the first game 6–5, while a shootout was required for the second game, with the Whalers getting the 2–1 win.Spits, Whalers win outdoors at Comerica ontariohockeyleague.com, December 31, 2013 On December 30, in front of 20,337 fans, the AHL affiliates of the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maples Leafs, the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Toronto Marlies played to a shootout, with the Marlies holding the 4–3 edge. This was the seventh outdoor AHL game.Marlies edge Griffins at Comerica Park theahl.com, December 31, 2013
Date Away team Score Home team Attendance December 16, 2013 Western Mustangs 5–2 Windsor Lancers 1,000December 27, 2013 Michigan State Spartans 2–3 (SO) Michigan Tech Huskies Western Michigan Broncos 3–2 (OT) Michigan Wolverines 25,449December 28, 2013 Michigan State Spartans 3–0 Michigan Wolverines 26,052 Michigan Tech Huskies 0–1 (OT) Western Michigan BroncosDecember 29, 2013 Windsor Spitfires 6–5 Saginaw Spirit 25,749 London Knights 1–2 (SO) Plymouth Whalers 26,384 December 30, 2013 Toronto Marlies 4–3 (SO) Grand Rapids Griffins 20,337December 31, 2013 Toronto Maple Leafs Alumni 4–5 Detroit Red Wings Alumni 33,425 5–6 (SO)
Alumni Showdown As part of the Hockeytown Winter Festival, two consecutive alumni games were played between former players of the Red Wings and the Maple Leafs on December 31. The Detroit Red Wings swept the doubleheader, winning the first alumni game 5–4, and the second alumni game 6–5, following a shootout, in front of 33,425 in attendance at Comerica Park.NHL.com - Marquee names expected for alumni doubleheader - Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic - Maple Leafs vs. Red Wings