By Dan Marley
This week, we watched two of hockey’s biggest rivals battle outdoors in the streets of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The visiting New York Rangers came from behind to defeat the hosting Flyers three to two, a game that will live in resplendence and glory for Rangers fans, and infamy for Flyers fans.
Hockey fans across the United States are anxiously awaiting the news for next year’s contest, hoping that different teams for once can take the ice.
Next year, the National Hockey League should consider playing in locations that are not located where the previous participants are from; however, if they have to for reasons of marketing and profit, the teams should play at a neutral location.
The key word here is “neutral.” Never has anyone in any professional sports league considered playing a game like this in a nonbiased setting unless certain circumstances arose. If possible, what two teams that draw heavy volumes of interest across the country can play in the Winter Classic at a neutral location and where?
The answer: Penguins versus Flyers at Beaver Stadium in Penn State University.
Hockey fans are probably tired of seeing these two teams in another outdoor classic, but knowing Gary Bettman, Barry Melrose, and company, they might consider this option.
Currently, Penn State athletics are in a rough patch after the sex scandal involving former head coach Joe Paterno and defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. An incident like this will take years for the university to recover. However, for the athletic department, there is some good news on the horizon.
According to reports on ESPN.com, the Penn State Ice Hockey program will be upgrading to Division I. A move like this will continue to increase the popularity of the school and calm the current dilemmas that are bothering the school’s athletic department.
In terms of marketing, “what better way to celebrate Penn State hockey’s newest achievement than a NHL Winter Classic?”.
Penn State is a perfect neutral ground for the Flyers and the Penguins. Both teams are within a three-hour radius of the campus and have been known to draw big crowds from all over.
This Winter Classic has the potential to last a week with various hockey events, leading up to and preceding the big game. These include an American Hockey League Winter Classic, an ECHL Winter Classic, and Penn State DI outdoor hockey.
The battle of Pennsylvania will continue in the AHL, with the Scranton/WB Penguins taking on the Hersey Bears. The Bears will be playing in the 2012 Winter Classic Festivities on January 6 in Philadelphia against the Adirondack Phantoms.
This particular situation with the Bears might mimic the one with both the Penguins and the Flyers; however, unlike the rest of the league, Hershey can get a good attendance.
The ECHL has never hosted an outdoor game, unless I am mistaken. Currently, there is only one ECHL team that plays in Pennsylvania: the Reading Royals. The Royals are the minor league affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins.
However, there are two teams that play within twenty miles of the eastern and western Pennsylvania borders and are the affiliates of both Pennsylvania teams: the Wheeling Nailers (Penguins) and the Trenton Titans (Flyers). All three of these teams play in the same division in the ECHL with the Elmira Jackals of Elmira, New York.
Having two of the three Pennsylvania state-limit teams or even all four teams of the Atlantic Division in a day-night double header can help the ECHL gain more recognition across the country as the league continues to expand.
Finally, an outdoor college hockey game featuring Penn State University will close off an amazing week of hockey in Happy Valley. Potential opponents include Ohio State, Boston College, Boston University, and UMass-Amherst.
The concern of hosting a game like this on neutral ground is which of the two teams will have the home advantage. Having no home team for this particular Classic can open up opportunities for future NHL markets.
Since 2008, the National Hockey League has been playing games in Europe. After the games, there is usually a one- week break in the season. During that week off, the Penguins and the Flyers should play a regular season game in a venue of a new potential market. This will test the new markets to see whether or not they deserve a team.
Preseason games have been used to do this, but hockey fans in these areas are not fond of watching no name prospects play on teams with weak farm systems. They would rather see Sidney Crosby and Claude Giroux battle for scoring supremacy instead of Jason Akeson and Dominik Uher battle for roster spots.
The schedule for Flyers/Penguins matchups will go as follow: two at Wells Fargo, two at CONSOLE Energy Center, one at Penn State, and the other at the potential market location. The markets that everyone has been obsessing over lately are Kansas City, Missouri; Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Hartford, Connecticut; Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; and Las Vegas, Nevada.
A lot of people are getting sick of seeing the Penguins and the Flyers play in the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. However, because of the popularity of these two teams, it is bound to happen again within the next five years. By having a Winter Classic at a neutral location, especially Penn State University, everyone can benefit from this. No one needs to have home field advantage. Minor league hockey can get some much- needed recognition. The tradition of college hockey can continue to grow as it introduces a new member to its more competitive ranks of Division I. A new market can be tested properly.
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