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The National Hockey League (NHL) has announced plans to play a hockey game at Wrigley Field. The NHL’s second annual Winter Classic is scheduled for January 1, 2009 at Noon Central Time. The 2009 Winter Classic will pit the Chicago Blackhawks against the Detroit Red Wings, wearing vintage 1954-55 jerseys. The 2009 Winter Classic is part of the regular NHL season and will mark the first hockey game at Wrigley Field – a huge event for Chicago and the sporting world. The game will be broadcast on NBC (U.S.) and CBC / RDS (Canada).

No information has been released by the NHL with regard to single-game tickets at this time. The only way to currently guarantee a spot at the Winter Classic is to be a Blackhawks sesason ticket holder.

The 2008 Winter Classic was held in Orchard Park, NY at Ralph Wilson Stadium. An NHL record crowd of 71,217 fans saw the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Buffalo Sabers 2-1 in a shootout. Since Wrigley Field has about half the seating capacity of Ralph Wilson Stadium (41,118 and 73,967 respectively), I would expect the hockey game at Wrigley Field to be a smaller attendance than the inaugural Winter Classic, but Wrigley Field should provide a much more intimate atmosphere.

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Wrigley Field Hockey Game

The NHL Winter Classic 2009 will be the second regular-season outdoor NHL game played in the United States (the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium last New Year’s Day) and the third regular-season outdoor game in League history (the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Montreal Canadiens at Commonwealth Stadium Nov. 22, 2003).blockquote>

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