This Day in Hockey History

2003 - Let's take this outside

The NHL plays an outdoor regular-season game for the very first time, as the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in the Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium.

The game is inspired by the "Cold War" game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University that is played two years earlier. A crowd of over 57,000 fans takes in the action in Edmonton, despite the frigid temperature.

Canadiens forwards Yanic Perreault and Richard Zednik each score twice, and Zednik's second of the game holds up as the winner.

Birthdays

1941 - Jacques Laperriere
1943 - Yvan Cournoyer
1984 - Davis Drewiske
1992 - Vladislav Namestnikov