Lori Antflick and Danielle Kerr, two young women from Southern Ontario, will be part of the first outdoor women's college hockey game and both know exactly what it will be like.
"It's going to be the coolest thing ever," Antflick, 20, said from her home in Thornhill, Ont., where she is enjoying the Christmas break from her schedule as a forward for the Northeastern University Huskies.
Antflick's teammate Kerr, 18, speaking a few minutes later from her home in London, Ont., said practically the same thing about playing the University of New Hampshire Wildcats on Jan. 8 in an NCAA Hockey East doubleheader at Fenway Park in Boston, eight days after the NHL stages its annual Winter Classic there. A men's game between Boston College and Boston University will follow the women.
Aside from being part of a historical event with three other Canadian women who also play for Northeastern, Antflick and Kerr are excited because they will be playing the Wildcats, who are one of their fiercest rivals. The Huskies sit second in Hockey East with a 6-3-2-1 record and could have been first if not for a loss earlier this season to the Wildcats, who are two points behind them in fourth.
"To get a chance to play them in the open air is great," said Antflick, who expects the sellout crowd of 36,000-plus will rival the enthusiasm shown Fenway's regular tenants. "Red Sox fans are crazy. They're awesome, so this is a huge opportunity for us."
Both Antflick and Kerr played outdoors regularly when they were growing up. Kerr's father, Dave, built a backyard rink every winter for her and younger brother, Brandon. But the thrill of the outdoor game for her is equally about the venue because Kerr is part of a family of baseball fans.
"We only got two comp tickets for the game and everyone was fighting for them," the freshman forward said, adding that Dave and Brandon prevailed. "When I first went down to Boston to visit Northeastern, I went to Fenway with my brother and dad and got a tour. My little brother is so ecstatic about going to the game.
"This is just so cool."
The NHL undoubtedly thinks so, too, but for different reasons. The once-occasional Winter Classic has proved to be a financial windfall for the league, which plans to add a second game in Canada starting next year.
According to SportsBusiness Journal, the NHL will get $10-million (all currency U.S.) from a group of 16 sponsors for this year's game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers. That is more than double what was taken in at last year's game at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
There is also a bonanza at the gate, thanks to ticket prices between $50 and $350. Usually, since it is one of their home games, the Bruins would get most of that. But it is considered a league event, so the Bruins are compensated by the league, which then keeps the rest of the receipts, which could be as much as $8-million.
The real payoff for the league is in U.S. television. Ratings are high among Canadian viewers, but so are most NHL games. U.S. television ratings, though, see a spike, which means valuable exposure for a league that has been struggling since the 2004-05 lockout to regain a foothold with the American public.
Last year's game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings was seen by 4.4 million viewers in the United States, the most in 34 years. NBC expects to have its advertising sold out for this year's game with a 20-per-cent increase in revenue from last year.
Those numbers prompted talk at a recent NHL governors' meetings that the league might sell the Winter Classic as a separate package in the United States. However, league sources say their television contracts prevent them from making the game separate or from using next year's Canadian game to create a bidding war between their existing broadcast partners in Canada.
But this does not mean the NHL cannot get a tidy increase in its next U.S. television contract thanks to using the Winter Classic as a kickoff event.
Other leagues are also capitalizing on the nostalgic attraction of an outdoor game. In addition to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which staged the first one nine years ago, the American Hockey League will have one this season and the first game of the International Ice Hockey Federation's world championships in May will be played at a soccer stadium between the host country Germany and the United States
There is a concern hockey may quickly wear out a special attraction, but sports marketers are not so sure.
"I don't think there's any reason to believe [the NHL]hit a ceiling. It's uniquely cool and we'll see how they continue to build on it," former Hicks Sports Marketing Group president Jim Lites told SportsBusiness Journal.