With nearly nine months to go, the NHL has a "save the date" confirmation for local hockey fans. Ted Kulfan passes along the invite in The Detroit News:
The Winter Classic is on again.
The Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs will face each other Jan. 1, 2014 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The puck will drop at 1 p.m.
The two teams were scheduled to play this past January but the NHL lockout wiped out any possibility of that happening.
A record crowd of over 110,000 is expected.
That would be an outdoor attendance record for any U.S. athletic event.
This will be the sixth Winter Classic, with earlier games held in Buffalo, Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
In a Sunday morning announcement at Joe Louis Arena, Kulfan writes, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also released the schedule for a Hockeytown Winter Festival from Dec. 27-31 at Comerica Park. Nine games include two Wings-Maple Leafs alumni matches, minor and junior league games, as well as high school and youth league games.
Info will be posted eventually at this NHL site, where fans can register now for email or text updates.
