AHL Outdoor Classic Sometimes referred to as the Outdoor Classic , teams in the American Hockey League first hosted games outdoors in 2010 . Paralleling the National Hockey League ' s Winter Classic and Heritage Classic , these outdoor games frequently pit two regional rivals in a game in an outdoor venue . 2009 - 10 . The Mirabito Outdoor Classic was the first - ever outdoor hockey game in the 74 - year history of the American Hockey League ( AHL ) as well as the first minor league outdoor game . The game was put on by the Syracuse Crunch and played at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse , New York . The game took place on February 20 , 2010 , with the Crunch beating the Binghamton Senators ( Binghamton , NY ) 2 – 1 . The game set an AHL attendance record with 21 , 508 people making history . The title sponsor of the game was Mirabito Energy Products with other prime sponsors including Time Warner Cable , Toyota , Labatt Blue , Coca - Cola , Dunkin Donuts , Wynit , Syracuse Conventions and Visitors Bureau and Renaissance Syracuse Hotel . 2010 - 11 . The second outdoor AHL game , known as the Whale Bowl , was held between the Providence Bruins and the recently rechristened Connecticut Whale on February 19 , 2011 , at Rentschler Field in East Hartford . The game was held one day before the NHL ' s 2011 Heritage Classic and Hockey Day in America celebrations , and took place as part of USA Hockey ' s Hockey Weekend Across America promotions . The Whale Bowl was a highlight of a multiple - day " Whalers Hockey Fest " organized by the Whale in honor of the former Hartford Whalers ; prior to the game , two other hockey games were held on the outdoor surface , including a college hockey game between Atlantic Hockey Association rivals Army Black Knights and American International College ( Army won 4 – 1 ) , as well as an alumni game between alumni of the Boston Bruins and Hartford Whalers ( which ended in a 4 – 4 tie ) which drew 10 , 000 fans . 28 , 600 ticket were in the market , 21 , 673 tickets were sold for the feature event , but only about 15 , 234 fans actually showed up at the stadium to see the game . The Providence Bruins defeated the Connecticut Whale in a shootout , 5 – 4 . 2011 - 12 . AHL teams scheduled two outdoor games for the 2011 - 12 season , one in the United States and another in Canada ( a first for the series ) . The first of the two was scheduled for January 6 , 2012 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . The Adirondack Phantoms ( who formerly played in Philadelphia and are the farm team to the Philadelphia Flyers ) , faced the Hershey Bears ( themselves a former Flyers farm club ) . The Phantoms scored with 20 . 8 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime before Shane Harper scored 58 seconds into overtime giving the Phantoms a 4 – 3 victory . The game was held in conjunction with the 2012 NHL Winter Classic , which was held at the same venue four days prior . The game set an AHL attendance record with 45 , 653 fans attending , more than double the previous record of 21 , 673 . Another outdoor game was held at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton , Ontario , which featured a match - up between the Toronto Marlies and the Hamilton Bulldogs , on January 21 , 2012 . A crowd of 20 , 565 spectators watched the Marlies beat the Bulldogs , 7 – 2 . Included in the festivities were two college hockey games hosted by the Brock Badgers : a men ' s test against the Waterloo Warriors and a women ' s contest against the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks . The event was known as the " Steeltown Showdown " in reference to Hamilton ' s steel mills . 2012 - 13 . On March 24 , 2012 , the AHL and the Hershey Bears announced via Twitter that the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins and the Hershey Bears were to play the 2013 Capital BlueCross AHL Outdoor Classic on January 20 , 2013 . The game was played at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey , Pennsylvania . Hershey took the lead in the second period but the Penguins scored a goal in the third to send the game to overtime . Paul Thompson would score in overtime , winning the game 2 – 1 for the Penguins . The game was played before a crowd of 17 , 311 spectators . As a result of the 2012 – 13 NHL lockout , a second planned outdoor game between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toronto Marlies , to be held in Detroit ' s Comerica Park on December 30 , 2012 , as part of the NHL Winter Classic , was canceled . ( The scheduled game was moved indoors to Van Andel Arena . ) 2013 - 14 . The Rochester Americans hosted the Frozen Frontier on December 13 , 2013 , taking on the Lake Erie Monsters at Frontier Field . The game kicked off a 10 - day festival that included college hockey games hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology men ' s and women ' s teams , high school hockey contests , and a matchup between Americans alumni and the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team . The Americans announced their participation on March 21 , 2013 . Each team will wore throwback uniform s for the event , with the Monsters donning a jersey worn by their predecessors , the Cleveland Barons . One year after their game had been originally scheduled , the Grand Rapids Griffins hosted the Toronto Marlies at Comerica Park on December 30 , 2013 , as part of the Hockeytown Winter Festival leading up to the 2014 NHL Winter Classic . The Marlies won in a shootout , 4 - 3 , to become the first team ever to win two AHL outdoor games . 2014 - 15 . In lieu of an outdoor game , the stadium showcase for the 2014 - 15 season was the Toyota Frozen Dome , which was hosted ( as was the 2010 Outdoor Classic ) by the Syracuse Crunch . This game was played at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse and featured the Crunch defeating the Utica Comets 2 – 1 in front of 30 , 175 fans ( an indoor attendance record for professional hockey ) on November 22 , 2014 .