2008 NHL Winter Classic The 2008 NHL Winter Classic also known as the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic was a National Hockey League game played on January 1 , 2008 , at 1 : 27 p . m . ET , outdoors at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park , New York . It was the first regular - season outdoor professional ice hockey game to be played in the United States , and was sponsored by AMP Energy . It was the successor to the Heritage Classic , the NHL ' s first regular - season outdoor game , played in Edmonton , Alberta , Canada . Ralph Wilson Stadium is the home to the National Football League ' s Buffalo Bills , and because of this , the game is colloquially referred to as the " Ice Bowl . " The game , which was played at a temporary ice rink built on the football field at Ralph Wilson Stadium , set an NHL attendance record of 71 , 217 . The home team was the Buffalo Sabres , and they hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins . The Penguins won the game , 2 - 1 in a shootout , on a goal by captain Sidney Crosby . The Sabres held a Winter Classic " house party " at HSBC Arena during the game where another 11 , 000 fans saw the game shown live on the arena ' s video scoreboard with synched - up audio from the team ' s radio coverage . The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team played a pre - game at the HSBC Arena as part of the house party festivities . Buffalo Sabres anthem singer Doug Allen sang the Canadian national anthem , as is customary at Sabres home games . and Irish tenor Ronan Tynan performed " God Bless America " before the game at the stadium . Preparations . Construction of the outdoor rink began on December 24 , the day after the Buffalo Bills played their last home game of the 2007 NFL season . It was built between the 16 - yard lines of the football field , under the supervision of NHL facilities operations manager Dan Craig . Initially , six inches ( 150 mm ) of the nine - inch ( 230 mm ) crown of the football field had to be leveled using styrofoam insulation . On top of the newly - created flat surface , three inches ( 75 mm ) of plywood with plastic covering were laid as a base for the necessary piping . At the same time the boards were being put in place , an inch of sand was spread amongst the piping and was then wet by a combination of hoses and timely rain so it could freeze into a rink overnight and be painted four days before the game . Another ¾ of an inch of ice was added to complete the playing surface . After this experience , Commissioner Gary Bettman stated that the league would like more time to prepare the site for the next outdoor game . He also wants to make sure that there are not too many outdoor games so the event can remain special . Attendance . 71 , 217 people attended the game , setting an NHL attendance record . The former NHL record of 57 , 167 was set at the Heritage Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton , Alberta , on November 22 , 2003 . Georges Laraque and Ty Conklin are the only two players who have played in both the Heritage Classic and Winter Classic games . They both played for the Oilers and Penguins , respectively , for each game . While it was the record for a professional game , it fell short of the all - time number of 74 , 554 , which was set in " The Cold War " between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University on October 6 , 2001 . Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller and Penguins forward Adam Hall both played for Michigan State in that game . Approximately 41 , 000 tickets to the game were made available to the general public , selling out within 30 minutes of being made available on September 18 , 2007 . In the face of controversy about the quickness of ticket sales , an official spokesperson for the Sabres called it " a testament to how popular the Sabres are and how many people want to be part of the event . " However , many Penguins fans were left out by not having the opportunity to purchase the tickets after they were made available to the city hosting the event , and they were frustrated by the lack of exclusivity for Penguins season - ticket holders . Television and radio coverage . The game was televised in the United States on NBC and in Canada on CBC and RDS . Westwood One broadcast the game on radio , and XM Satellite Radio aired the game , as well . Some NBC affiliates in the United States decided instead to play the game on secondary channels often used for NBC Weather Plus . Therefore , in some markets , fans with satellite service with DirecTV or DISH Network were unable to watch the game . Despite this , and competing with broadcasts of college football bowl games ( this was particularly noted in the Detroit , Michigan market , usually a strong market for hockey ratings , where the Michigan Wolverines were playing in the Capital One Bowl ) , the game garnered a 2 . 6 rating and 5 share , the highest rating for a regular season NHL game since 1996 , and the highest share since Wayne Gretzky ' s final game in 1999 , in a near tie with second - place CBS ' s 2 . 7 rating for Gator Bowl coverage . The production earned a 38 . 1 rating in Buffalo and 17 . 7 rating in Pittsburgh , to lead all markets . Westwood One carried a nationwide radio broadcast of the game , as did each team ' s local announcing team for local networks ( Rick Jeanneret and Harry Neale for Buffalo , Mike Lange and Phil Bourque for Pittsburgh ) . NBC had an airplane flying overhead to provide bird ' s - eye views of the rink , including a live webstream from its camera throughout the game . The announcers stood in a constructed perch on the penalty box side of the rink , in front of the stadium stands . Mike Emrick , Eddie Olczyk and Darren Pang comprised the TV broadcast team for NBC , while Jim Hughson , Craig Simpson and Greg Millen called the game on CBC . Rule changes . The NHL also announced that several rule changes were in effect for this game , to nullify advantages to either team due to the weather conditions . The teams switched ends halfway through the third period . Play was interrupted exactly at the 10 : 00 minute mark , similar to the end of a period with a horn sounding , a zamboni resurfacing the ice , and a faceoff following at center ice . The overtime period was similarly divided into two 2 : 30 segments . In the shootout , each goaltender was permitted to choose which goal to defend , and they each chose the same goal , towards the west side of the stadium . Game summary . The teams wore vintage jerseys for the event , with the Penguins wearing powder blue jerseys for the first time since 1973 . The Sabres wore their old white jerseys , which they wore from 1978 to 1996 . The game was part of the regular 2007 – 08 NHL season schedule , replacing a game that would have been held at HSBC Arena , the Sabres ' regular home . In addition , the goaltenders also dressed in vintage style , with Ty Conklin and Ryan Miller both wearing retro - painted masks . Ryan Miller also wore a hockey sock on top of his mask , which he changed during each intermission so he could auction all three of them off for charity along with his mask . Penguins backup Dany Sabourin wore a set of vintage - styled pads but did not play . Weather for the game was appropriate to the winter setting it was intended to evoke , with game - time temperatures around the freezing mark and snow falling for much of the time , especially during the third period . The weather conditions made play somewhat more difficult for players but were well - received by fans . The Penguins registered 25 shots on goal , and the Sabres had 37 , dominating the second and overtime periods , leading those 14 - 2 and 7 - 0 , respectively . Each goalie allowed one goal in playing time not including the shootout , giving Ty Conklin 36 saves for the Penguins , and Ryan Miller 24 for the Sabres .