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Griffins defenseman Nathan Paetsch has a mental circle drawn around the date of Monday, Dec. 30. Like his teammates, Paetsch is excited about the opportunity to play outdoors when the Griffins host the Toronto Marlies at Comerica Park in Detroit. The game was shelved last year due to the NHL lockout. “I was so excited last year when I saw that we were playing an outdoor game, and then it got cancelled, so I was pretty disappointed,” Paetsch said. “It’s great to get it back on the schedule.” Hockey, of course, is no stranger to the outdoors. In its earliest days, the sport was played outdoors on rivers, lakes and other natural ice surfaces. In fact, at the fi st Winter Olympics in 1924 in Chamonix, France, games were held outdoors. Various international and exhibition games were held outdoors over the years, but the sport had largely moved indoors. The Cold War – the historic game between Michigan State University and the University of Michigan at Spartan Stadium in 2001 – is largely credited with starting the current popular trend of playing hockey outdoors. The Griffins’ outdoor game is part of the SiriusXM Hockeytown Winter Festival, which will conclude with a Dec. 31 doubleheader between alumni from the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Winter Festival also includes the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec. 2728 and an Ontario Hockey League doubleheader on Dec. 29. All games will be held at Comerica Park. The 2014 NHL Winter Classic will pit the Red Wings against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on New Year’s
Day. It’s the second appearance by the Red Wings in the marquee event, having faced the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on Jan. 1, 2009. For the majority of Griffins, as well as the franchise itself, the Comerica Park contest will be their fi st outdoor game. Five Griffins have taken part in outdoor games, either in college or the professional ranks. As a member of the Buff lo Sabres, Paetsch participated in the inaugural Winter Classic in 2008, facing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fi st regular-season outdoor professional ice hockey game to be played in the United States. Paetsch recorded one shot during 12:49 of ice time on 21 shifts hile playing on a temporary ice rink built on the football fi ld of Ralph Wilson Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Buff lo Bills. “The whole experience was awesome,” Paetsch recalled. “It was so cool because everything about the game was new; nobody knew what to expect.” Both teams wore vintage jerseys as Pittsburgh won 2-1 in a shootout on a goal by Sidney Crosby. Game-time temperatures were around the freezing mark, with snow falling much of the game, especially during the third period. A total of 71,217 people attended the event, establishing an NHL attendance record. The crowd broke the former NHL record of 57,167 set at the outdoor Heritage Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton, Alberta, on Nov. 22, 2003. “It was loud, but it was a different loud,” Paetsch said. “That many people make a different noise. It’s like a heavier loud, not booming like inside an enclosed space. But it was intense.” Paetsch remembers the game was a blast, in spite of the snowy conditions that made play a
Grand Rapids GRIFFINS • 2013 Calder Cup Champions
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