The NHL's Winter Classic has taken over the New Year's holiday over the past four years. Minus the 2009 game which featured Detroit vs Chicago (an Original Six matchup), the event has been dominated by East Coast teams. Some of them even twice (Pittsburgh and now Philadelphia).
Fans in Canada are more interested in Canadian teams, obviously, and therefore the NHL Heritage Classic which has pitted two Canadian-based teams is more popular there. This season there is no Heritage Classic scheduled but there is expected to be a game next year, perhaps featuring Vancouver vs Toronto. Edmonton, Calgary and Montreal (twice) have already played in previous Heritage Classics.
This season's Winter Classic is obviously going to be played in Philadelphia on January 2nd, as everyone knows unless you've been under a rock. The marketing behind this game has exploded over the past few weeks.
The attention has brought out plenty of guesses as to where next year's Winter Classic will be played.
One of the hot rumors is the NHL will take the game back to the midwest with a game at an NCAA football stadium that can hold a huge crowd. The University of Michigan's Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House", is one of the suspected leaders to land next year's game.
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With the growing popularity of the event, the long history of hockey support in Michigan and surrounding areas as well as the rarity of this event -- it is expected the NHL would easily be able to fill The Big House for a match featuring the local Detroit Red Wings and perhaps a west coast team like the Los Angeles Kings or even a Canadian-based team such as the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The NHL's got a great event which has grown beyond their wildest dreams, they just have to keep it fresh and growing and the fans will continue to come out for it.
Visit SelectATicket.com to find NHL Winter Classic tickets for the upcoming game between the NY Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers and also sign up to be alerted when 2013 Winter Classic tickets become available.
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