The 2014 NHL Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs might set the new world record for hockey attendance. It will be a home game for the Wings, held at Michigan Stadium, The Big House. The 2014 NHL Winter Classic comes to the home of the Wolverines, which also holds the current record for outdoor hockey attendance: 2011, The Big Chill, Michigan vs Michigan State.
The current forecast for the 2014 NHL Winter Classic says 19 degrees for a high with a 60% chance of snow showers. This Original Six match-up, and the first WC with a Canadian club, will be New Year’s Day on NBC. Here’s the 2014 NHL Winter Classic preview.
And now I give you the preview from the gentlemen who will be calling the game for The Peacock.
Following are quotes from yesterday’s 2014 NHL Winter Classic media conference call:
Eddie Olczyk: “Make no mistake – this is the marquee game on the NHL schedule that everybody wants to be a part of…Original Six matchup, which I think really takes this game to another level…I played three-and-a-half years in Toronto, played in this rivalry between the Maple Leafs and the Red Wings, so that adds to the beauty of this game.”
Olczyk on historic aspect of the 2014 NHL Winter Classic: “For some of these players, certainly knowing the history of the Big House and what it’s like to see a college football game in Ann Arbor, and (to) have the opportunity to play in front of 100,000 people in a venue like that…that’s what makes this game and this day so unique. You’re going into places that have an unbelievable history.”
Doc Emrick on calling the 2014 NHL Winter Classic at ice level: “The speed of the game will be very quick…to be that close to the action is going to be thrilling.”
Emrick: “Any time you bring it up to any one of the players, immediately there’s a smile and a sense of excitement…you can read it on their faces, and you can get a sense that this is a day that they’ll never forget.”
Pierre McGuire: “This is a playoff game…this has the makings of being one of the true classics of the NHL season.”
McGuire on matchup: “I’m looking forward to the young star power of Toronto with Phil Kessel and James Van Riemsdyk, and the quick-strike offense that they’re capable of providing…you look at the Detroit Red Wings…you still have Pavel Datsyuk, you just got Henrik Zetterberg back, and you’ve got two dynamic forwards in Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar.”
Get hyped! Get ALL CAPS! HYPED UP! for the 2014 NHL Winter Classic.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS Catch him Tuesdays talking Illini and Northwestern for KOZN 1620 The Zone, Fridays talking Chicago Bulls and Bears for WAOR 95.7 The Fan