NHL Heritage Classic 2003

The 2003 NHL Heritage Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Canadiens de Montréal that was played on November 22, 2003 at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton , Alberta , Canada . It was the first open-air game in the history of the National Hockey League and was launched after a game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University ice hockey teams at East Lansing American Football Stadium in 2001 .

The Heritage Classic took place in front of 57,167 spectators in the Commonwealth Stadium and thus set a record attendance in the NHL. The rush was great, despite temperatures around -18 ° C. The reason for the event in such an unusual location was the Oilers' 25-year membership in the league.

Mega Stars game

The first thing on the program was the “Mega Stars Game” among the best players who had previously played for the teams. The Oilers' team consisted mostly of players from the 1980s when they won a total of five Stanley Cups . The leader of the Edmonton Mega Star team was Wayne Gretzky . The Canadiens were represented by players from the very successful 1970s, as well as some players from the Stanley Cup years 1986 and 1993. They were led by Guy Lafleur . Only Stanley Cup winners were on the ice for both teams, with the exception of the first team captain of the Oilers, Ron Chipperfield , and Russ Courtnall for the Canadiens. Mark Messier , who at that time was still active for the New York Rangers in the NHL, received the approval of his team to compete for the Oilers in the "Mega Star Game". The game was scheduled for two times 15 minutes. The Oilers were able to win the game in the end with 2–0.

Team lineups

Edmonton Oilers MegaStars Item player G Grant drove G Andy Moog G Bill Ranford D. Jeff Beukeboom D. Paul Coffey D. Lee Fogolin D. Randy Gregg D. Charlie Huddy D. Kevin Lowe D. Marty McSorley D. Craig Muni RW Glenn Anderson C. Ron Chipperfield C. Wayne Gretzky - C. F. Dave Hunter RW Jari Kurri F. Ken Linseman RW Dave Lumley C. Mark Messier LW Dave Semenko LW Craig Simpson LW Esa Tikkanen

Canadiens de Montréal MegaStars Item player G Steve Penney G Richard Sévigny D. Jean-Jacques Daigneault D. Gilbert Delorme D. Gaston Gingras D. Guy Lapointe D. Craig Ludwig D. Larry Robinson LW Benoît Brunet C. Guy Carbonneau RW Cam Connor RW Russ Courtnall F. Lucien DeBlois RW Guy Lafleur - C. LW Yvon Lambert C. Kirk Muller RW Mark Napier RW Chris Nilan LW Stéphane Richer LW Steve Shutt C. Bobby Smith

NHL game

Then it came to the NHL game between the two teams, which Montreal was able to win 4-3. Richard Zedník of the Canadiens scored the first goal of the game and later the decisive one.

Follow-up events

On January 1, 2008, the NHL Winter Classic 2008 was the second open-air game of the National Hockey League. In Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo who met Buffalo Sabers to the Pittsburgh Penguins . The NHL Winter Classic has been held annually since then (with the exception of 2013).

The NHL Heritage Classic has also become a regular facility of the NHL.

Web links

• Special with photos and reports ( Memento from May 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) on nhl.com