The first of a reported five additional outdoor games slated for the NHL’s 2013-14 season is officially on — and it is set to feature the top two teams in the league.
The Chicago Blackhawks will host the Pittsburgh Penguins at 8 p.m. ET on March 1, 2014, under the lights of storied Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears.
The event is part of the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series, in which the NHL plans to play a number of regular-season games in outdoor facilities. The league intends to announce more outdoor regular-season games soon.
“Our fans and our teams love outdoor games and we are thrilled the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series will present a number of these experiences to a large number of our fans in a variety of National Hockey League markets,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said via statement. “The Chicago game, at Soldier Field, will be a match-up of two recent Stanley Cup champions at an iconic stadium. We thank the Blackhawks and Penguins, Coors Light, Soldier Field and everyone involved in what will be a memorable, exciting and fun event.”
The Soldier Field tilt will mark the second time the Blackhawks will host an outdoor regular-season game. At the 2009 Winter Classic, 40,818 filled the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field to see the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Blackhawks 6-4.
The Penguins will be taking part in their third outdoor game and their first since captain Sidney Crosby was injured during their 2011 Winter Classic loss to the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They Pens beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in a shootout in the first Winter Classic, in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
This will be second time hockey has been played at Soldier Field, which opened in 1924. On Feb. 17, 52,051 watched four college teams play a doubleheader dubbed the Hockey City Classic — Notre Dame beat Miami University in one game, and the University of Wisconsin beat the University of Minnesota in the second.
“Returning hockey to where it originated, in the cold elements of an outdoor rink, by playing at Soldier Field in Chicago will no doubt be a game the players will have circled on next season’s schedule,” said Mathieu Schneider, NHLPA special assistant to the executive director, via press release. “This will be a great event for hockey fans in Chicago and Pittsburgh, and one that they won’t soon forget.”
