Boston To Host NHL Winter Classic Game Between Bruins And Canadiens

The 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic–the marquee outdoor hockey game of the pro hockey season–will be held on January 1, 2016 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The stadium is better known as the home field of the New England Patriots but come New Year’s Day it will be backed with hockey fans as the Boston Bruins take on their longtime ‘Original Six’ rivals, the Montreal Canadiens.

The announcement was made on a very ‘un-hockeylike’ day in the Bay State–Wednesday saw temperatures soar into the low 90’s in the Boston area and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman joked about the weather when making the announcement of the game: “(New England Patriots’ owner) Bob Kraft promised me it would be at least 60 degrees cooler on New Year’s Day.” The reality of the situation is that a 30 degree day would be a ‘warm snap’ during the brutal New England winter. The field looked hockey ready as the Winter Classic Logo was displayed in each end zone and the outline of the rink was laid out in the middle of the football field.

Bruins’ President Cam Neely gave his thoughts on the game: “After being through it and seeing the other [outdoor] games on TV, just the atmosphere is spectacular. To stand here — and we are essentially almost on the blue line — and look up [into the stands] and knowing it is going to be packed and playing our biggest rival in this setting is going to be pretty special.” Montreal General Manager Marc Bergevin gave his view on the proceedings: “”It’s going to be fun for the players, exciting for the fans,” Bergevin said. “Montreal is not that far away, so I expect a lot of Montreal fans here for the game. Montreal-Boston is always fun, it’s always special and they can’t go wrong in bringing those two teams together here.”

Patriots’ owner Kraft spoke of the weather at the conclusion of the event: “”No two teams have played each other more often in NHL history; they have had more regular-season, playoffs and Game 7 matchups than any other two teams,” Kraft said. “Many of these games have been truly epic and memorable battles, highlighting what makes this sport so great. I’m very optimistic and hopeful that is what we will have right here on this field on Jan. 1 right out here. And I promise you, the temperature will be a little different. Maybe colder than you really want it.”