Jeff Bennett's Blog

History was made in Boston last night as BU and BC laced up the skates and continued their long rivalry on the ice at Fenway Park.  The sell out crowd of 38,472, was the largest ever to witness a college hockey game in the eastern United States.  Mother nature gave us a real dose of old time hockey with 19 degrees, wind and light snow through the whole game.  BU played in “beanpot form,” and dominated the first half of the game on the way to a 3-2 win.  The BU-BC game was preceded by UNH vs. Northeastern women’s game.

BC and BU have each won the National Championship the last two years in a row.  The history between BC and BU hockey is long and spirited.  There are so many hockey legends that have come from these schools that include current coaches Jerry York and Jack Parker and many were on hand last night like Mike Eruzione, Craig Janney, Brian Leech, Jim Craig, Dave Silk, Jack O’Callahan and so many more.  It was also great to see Travis Roy on the ice as an honorary Captain.

Hockey is a winter sport that has been played on the frozen ponds, lakes and rivers since the game was invented.  There is nothing like the feeling of playing hockey outside.  It is the way it is meant to be.  Our modern day indoor rinks have surely perfected the process of making and maintaining the ice surface.  There are many cold indoor rinks but they also shelter us from the other conditions like wind, snow, shadows that we are exposed to outside.  The ice surface at Fenway was designed and developed by the NHL for the Winter Classic and looked to be superb.  The rink was outside though and so the players were exposed to all the elements like the wind and snow that persisted during the entire game last night.

We had very good seats considering the odd shaped aspects of Fenway Park and the position of the ice rink across the baseball infield.  We essentially sat in one of the corners of the ice high enough to see most of the playing surface.  Only one problem.  There was a big post that supports the upper deck right in the middle of our site line.  It reminded me of many of my visits to the old Boston Garden where there were so many obstructed view seats.  This was not a big problem when you compare this to others who were in seats that offered very little direct site lines.  The Red Sox organization did a great job hosting the event.  The Fenway roaming concessionaires pedaled Hot Chocolate and Hot Chowder rather than the summer favorites.  It was a great environment.

We all love Fenway.  We all love hockey in Boston.  In fact, I maintain that due to the combination of the Bruins + BU + BC + Harvard + Northeastern + Beanpot, this is the real “Hockeytown.”  We all love the idea of the outdoor game. It all begs the questions:  Should Boston have an outdoor game annually?  Should Fenway be the place to host the outdoor game?

I think that there is enough interest in Boston to do this annually.  I think most who attended the Bruins Winter Classic and last nights BU-BC and UNH-Northeaster games would want to come again…and there are just as many who did not go but through there exposure on TV or in the media would want to attend.  I also think that Fenway, even with its imperfections, might be the right venue for Boston.  It is in the city which is important.  This is about the game but the event is almost just as  important.  It is big enough to double the attendance @ TD Garden…but not too big.  Everyone loves Fenway.  All I ask is let the college pep bands do the entertainment…we did not need to hear all the baseball stuff on the organ and soundsystem…it got in the way of the ebbs and flows of the game.

I would love to see Bruins vs. Canadians or Bruins vs. Rangers outdoors.  Philly is a great town, but Boston is an “original six” team.  Extending one of these rivalries to the outdoor rink would be a classic.  I would also love to see the Beanpot played outdoors.  Double the crowd that could attend.  That would be an incredible atmosphere.  All things for debate and discussion in Boston.  I really hope that this is the first of many outdoor hockey games in the years ahead.

Kudos to the Red Sox organization for being great hosts.  Congrats to Jack Parker and the BU Terriers for winning what might become the first Frozen Fenway classic.