Ice, snow and a football stadium packed with 71,217 fans. New Year’s Day 2008 saw what would go down as one of the greatest hockey games of the decade. The Buffalo Sabres took on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first regular season outdoor game in the U.S. in NHL history, and the last outdoor game since the Heritage Classic, which took place on Nov. 22, 2003, between the Montreal Canadians and the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton.

The snow was falling well before the game began and there was more than a fair share of stoppages to keep the rink in good condition throughout the contest. But delays aside, the game couldn’t have gone better for the NHL, which was attempting to stretch its market to more fans. It had the ambience of a football game as tailgaters began to pile into the parking lot as early as 9 a.m. to kick off the festivities. The tailgating Buffalo fans pelted the Pittsburgh bus with snowball after snowball as it entered the stadium parking lot. The game itself was a different story.

It took only 21 seconds for the 70,000-plus fans to see the game’s first goal. NHL golden boy Sidney Crosby carried the puck down the left side of the ice. After skating past two Buffalo players, he fired a shot on net, which was stopped by Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller. Unfortunately for Miller, the rebound kicked right out to Penguins forward Colby Armstrong who buried the loose puck for an early 1-0 lead.

But the Penguin lead only held up for one period as the Sabres tied the game up just 1:25 into the second period. Defenseman Brian Campbell ripped a wrist shot into the top of the net on a pass from Tim Connolly past Pittsburgh goalie Ty Conklin. As the puck hit the back of the net, the crowd reached a deafening level, which sent chills down the backs of the players on the ice. But after the crowd was done, the goalies took over the show.

Strangely enough, this was not the first outdoor game for either starting goalie, and perhaps this is why they were both in ‘Vezina-like’ form. Miller played in the ‘Cold War’ game back on Oct. 6, 2001 between Michigan State University and Michigan University. Miller skated away with a 3-3 tie. Conklin played in the Heritage Classic back in 2003. Conklin and the Oilers lost to the Canadiens by a score of 4-3.

The weather intensified for the third period, as did the game play. Midway through the period, due to the snow, the teams switched sides so that one team would not receive an unfair advantage from the condition of the ice. But the goalies did not budge and the score did not change, and the already historic game continued on to overtime.

After a back-and-forth overtime, which saw chance after chance without a goal, the Sabres and Penguins continued on once again, this time to a shootout. The tension had built and built, and now laid on the sticks of six different shooters. One by one the goalies stepped up and made the saves, and suddenly the score was 1-1.

And it was Sidney Crosby’s turn.

Throughout the entire game there was Crosby commercial after Crosby commercial. The NHL had marketed their star player to death. The announcers had said something about Crosby almost every minute of the game, as if afraid they would lose their jobs if they didn’t. And so one of the greatest games of the decade came down to a kid who will most likely go down as one of the greatest of all time. Crosby skated down toward the opposing goaltender, unhindered by the falling snow and pressure attempting to pull him down, and with a couple of quick moves, Crosby found an opening and slipped the puck between Miller’s legs and into the net.

It was as if the Penguins had won the Stanley Cup as Crosby pumped his fist and was mobbed by his teammates at center ice in a game that couldn’t have been scripted more perfectly. The Sabres skated over to their goalie, as if they had not lost and congratulated him on a great game. Both teams came to center ice and saluted the fans who had so graciously applauded what turned out to be a true classic.

As the players raised their sticks it was obvious that this was the NHL’s intention from the start. It was a game that resembled the same type of pond hockey that kids are brought up on ‘ a type of hockey that it is all too rare in today’s modern game. From talks about Slap Shot Legend Ogie Oglethorpe to watching the players coast along the snow-covered ice, this was truly a game for the ages.

-Check out Friday’s Pipe Dream for Matt Hogan’s analysis of the America Hockey League All-Star game, held Monday night at the Broome County Memorial Arena.