The Outdoor Classic is a series of games played outdoors in the American Hockey League. Paralleling the National Hockey League's Winter Classic and Heritage Classic, the Outdoor Classic pits two regional rivals in a game in an outdoor stadium; with the AHL being based mainly in minor league cities, the stadiums are usually smaller than the ones the Winter Classic uses. To date, all three Outdoor Classics have featured two teams from neighboring or nearby cities; the first two games were held on the third weekend of February.
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The Mirabito Outdoor Classic was the first ever outdoor hockey game in the history of the 74 year American Hockey League (AHL). The game was put on by the Syracuse Crunch (Syracuse, NY) and played at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY. The game took place on Saturday February 20, 2010 when the Syracuse Crunch beat the Binghamton Senators (Binghamton, NY) 2-1. The game set an AHL attendance record with 21,508 people making history. The title sponsor of the game was Mirabito Energy Products with other prime sponsors: Time Warner Cable, Toyota, Labatt Blue, Coca-Cola, Dunkin Donuts, Wynit, Syracuse Conventions and Visitors Bureau and Renaissance Syracuse Hotel.
A 2011 edition of the Outdoor Classic, known as the Whale Bowl, was held between the Providence Bruins and the recently rechristened Connecticut Whale on February 19, 2011 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. The game was held one day before the NHL's 2011 Heritage Classic and Hockey Day in America celebrations, and took place as part of USA Hockey's Hockey Weekend Across America promotions.[1] The Whale Bowl was a highlight of a multiple-day "Whalers Hockey Fest" organized by the Whale in honor of the former Hartford Whalers; prior to the game, two other hockey games were held on the outdoor surface, including a college hockey game between the Army Black Knights and American International College (Army won 4-1),[2] as well as an alumni game between alumni of the Boston Bruins and Hartford Whalers (which ended in a 4-4 tie) which drew 10,000 fans. 21,600 tickets were sold for the feature event, but only 15,234 fans actually showed up at the stadium to see the game due to severe weather.[3] The Providence Bruins defeated the Connecticut Whale in a shootout, 5-4.[4]
The AHL has scheduled two outdoor games for 2012, one in the United States and another in Canada (a first for the series), both of which have been referred to as the "Outdoor Classic."
The first of the two is scheduled for January 6, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Adirondack Phantoms (who formerly played in Philadelphia and are the farm team to the Philadelphia Flyers), will face the Hershey Bears (themselves a former Flyers farm club). The game is being held in conjunction with the 2012 NHL Winter Classic, which will have been held at the same venue four days prior.[5]
Another outdoor game will be held at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario. Said game will feature a match-up between the Toronto Marlies and the Hamilton Bulldogs, on January 21, 2012. [6]
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