By Denis J. Puska
Listen to this week's Puska on Pucks
Power Play that has a two hour show. The second hour is devoted to the AHL Outdoor Classic with several interviews including
Rob Rae of the Buffalo Sabres, David Andrews of the American Hockey League and much more.
Hockey
history was made on so many different fronts on Saturday afternoon in Syracuse NY with the first Outdoor Game at the minor
professional level.
More than 21,000 fans from across New York and North America watched the Mirabito American
Hockey League Outdoor Classic that featured the Syracuse Crunch at the Binghamton Senators.
There
was a wonderful intensity and emotion at the event all day long as hockey fans knew that they were going to witness something
truly memorable. The weather was warm, around freezing, with a stiff breeze out of the north that at times made things uncomfortable,
not only for the fans, but for the players. The ice looked in great shape and held up well throughout the game.
What made this event truly special was that the organizers made this an event for everyone. The day started with
exhibition games featuring the fire and police departments of Syracuse and Binghamton.
There
were several dignitaries in attendance for the event including NY Governor David Paterson, Senator Charles E. Schumer, former
players such as Rob Rae of the Buffalo Sabres and Bob Nystrom of the New York Islanders. The start of
the game was actually delayed by 15 minutes as traffic was backed up for miles as fans slowly made their way into the stadium.
The pregame ceremonies were amazing with a fly over by the 174th Fighter Wing of the New York Air National Guard, a large
American Flag that was on the ice, and a parachute jumper who arrived on scene with the official game puck. The parachute
jumper had to deal with a strong wind that kept moving him around until he finally got into position to land.
The game itself got off to an intense start with a fight in the opening minutes between Jeremy Yablonski
of the Sens and Jon Mirasty of Syracuse. The two went toe to toe and threw non-stop punches for about five minutes. It didn't
take long for the first goal to be scored as the Crunch delighted the hometown fans when Alexandre Picard tallied from Michael
Blunden.
In the second period, Josh Hennessy tied the game up for Binghamton shorthanded from Martin St. Pierre. The
Crunch took the lead for good with under 30 seconds remaining the period. David Liffiton scored from Dan Fritsche and Michael
Blunden.
The goaltenders and the specialty teams dominated the game and the third period. Kevin Lalande was
outstanding for Syracuse to keep his team in front. On one occasion he had to fight the wind to control the puck that was
shot down the ice. Mike Brodeur was equally sharp at the other end for Binghamton making some big stops to give his team a
chance at rallying.
The players seemed to have difficulty at times getting into the flow of the game with all of the
stoppages and odd man situations due to the penalties. There were 18 power plays in the game, but neither team managed a goal
on the man advantage. The Senators scored shorthanded.
As soon as the game was over, it didn't take fans long
to leave the facility. I walked outside just about an hour after things had ended and the place was empty and traffic was
back to normal.
Former Buffalo Sabres' great and current broadcaster Rob Rae said it best that with all of the teams
in professional hockey that have financial problems trying to keep things going, that it was nice to see this game happen
at this level.
I really believe that if there are more events like this in the years to come that financial
support needs to come from all parties like the Crunch have done with the government, corporate community and of course the
fans. I hope there are more outdoor games at the minor professional level in the future. I would like to see a weekend event
like this where two leagues are showcased. There could be an AHL game on one day and perhaps an ECHL game to follow featuring
the Double A affiliates. How great for the game of professional hockey if you can put something together like this.
The
AHL Outdoor Classic was an amazing event to attend and I am glad that I had the opportunity to witness history. Thanks to
everyone who helped Puska on Pucks attend this event. We hope to do more feature reporting of these events, whether it's an
outdoor, all-star or league championship final game.
