List of ice hockey games with highest attendance

This is a list of ice hockey games with the highest attendance on record. All of the games on this list were held in stadiums designed for field sports such as association football, gridiron football, and baseball. Four of the "games" listed were actually doubleheaders, in which a single ticket provided admission to two games held back-to-back. The fixed-roof Ford Field in Detroit hosted one doubleheader and a single game, and another was held at the retractable-roof Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany (with the roof closed for that game); all other games on the list were held in open-air venues. Most of these games were staged as special events, and all but one were played in the 21st century.
Attendance in the 30,000 range was once quite common for major international matches held outdoors in the 1940s and 50s in Moscow's Lenin Stadium. Figures of this type are still common in bandy, a relative of ice hockey played outdoors.
The record for a Stanley Cup playoff game is 28,183, set on April 23, 1996, at the Thunderdome during a Tampa Bay Lightning – Philadelphia Flyers game.
A new record was set on December 11, 2010, when the University of Michigan's men's ice hockey team faced cross-state rival Michigan State in an event billed as "The Big Chill at the Big House". The game was played at Michigan's football venue, Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, with a capacity of 109,901, as of the 2010 football season. Ultimately, a crowd announced by UM as 113,411, at that time the largest in the stadium's history (including football), saw the homestanding Wolverines win 5–0. Guinness World Records, using a count of ticketed fans who actually entered the stadium instead of UM's figure of tickets sold, announced a final figure of 104,173.
Rank	Attendance 	Location 	Date	Event 	Home team 	Final score	Visiting team
1 	113,411 (announced)104,173 (certified) 	Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor 	 	The Big Chill at the Big House 	Michigan Wolverines (men) 	5–0 	Michigan State Spartans (men)
2 	105,491 (announced)< 104,173 (certified)	Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor 	 	2014 NHL Winter Classic 	Detroit Red Wings 	2–3(SO) 	Toronto Maple Leafs
3 	77,803 	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen 	 	2010 IIHF World Championship 	 	1–2(OT) 	
The USA was the designated home team for this game by IIHF seeding criteria, despite Germany being host of the World Championships.
4 	74,554 	Spartan Stadium, East Lansing 	 	Cold War 	Michigan State Spartans (men) 	3–3 	Michigan Wolverines (men)
5 	71,217 	Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park 	 	2008 NHL Winter Classic 	Buffalo Sabres 	1–2(SO) 	Pittsburgh Penguins
6 	70,205 	Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California	 	2015 NHL Stadium Series 	San Jose Sharks 	1–2 	Los Angeles Kings
7 	68,111 	Heinz Field, Pittsburgh 	 	2011 NHL Winter Classic 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	1–3 	Washington Capitals
8 	67,318 	Heinz Field, Pittsburgh 	 	2017 NHL Stadium Series 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	4–2 	Philadelphia Flyers
9 	67,246 	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough 	 	2016 NHL Winter Classic 	Boston Bruins 	1–5 	Montreal Canadiens
10 	62,921 	Soldier Field, Chicago 	 	2014 NHL Stadium Series 	Chicago Blackhawks 	5–1 	Pittsburgh Penguins
11 	57,167 	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton 	 	2003 Heritage Classic 	Edmonton Oilers 	3–4 	Montreal Canadiens
12 	55,031 	Camp Randall Stadium, Madison 	 	Camp Randall Hockey Classic 	Wisconsin Badgers (women) 	6–1 	Bemidji State Beavers (women)
12 	55,031 	Camp Randall Stadium, Madison 	 	Camp Randall Hockey Classic 	Wisconsin Badgers (men) 	3–2 	Michigan Wolverines (men)
13 	55,000 	Lenin Stadium, Moscow 	 	1957 Ice Hockey World Championships 	 	4–4 	
14 	54,194 	BC Place, Vancouver 	 	2014 NHL Heritage Classic 	Vancouver Canucks 	2–4 	Ottawa Senators
15 	54,099 	Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles 	 	2014 NHL Stadium Series 	Los Angeles Kings 	0–3 	Anaheim Ducks
16 	52,051 	Soldier Field, Chicago 	 	OfficeMax Hockey City Classic 	Notre Dame Fighting Irish (men)	2–1 	Miami RedHawks (men)
16 	52,051 	Soldier Field, Chicago 	 	OfficeMax Hockey City Classic 	Wisconsin Badgers (men) 	3–2 	Minnesota Golden Gophers (men)
18 	51,125 	ESPRIT arena, Düsseldorf 	 	2015 DEL Winter Game 	Düsseldorfer EG 	3–2 	Kölner Haie
19 	50,426 	TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis 	 	2016 NHL Stadium Series 	Minnesota Wild 	6–1 	Chicago Blackhawks
20 	50,105 	Yankees Stadium, New York City 	 	2014 NHL Stadium Series 	New Jersey Devils 	3–7 	New York Rangers
21 	50,095 	Coors Field, Denver 	 	2016 NHL Stadium Series 	Colorado Avalanche 	3–5 	Detroit Red Wings
22 	50,027 	Yankee Stadium, New York City 	 	2014 NHL Stadium Series 	New York Islanders 	1–2 	New York Rangers
23 	50,000 	Stadion Nürnberg, Nuremberg 	 	2013 DEL Winter Game 	Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers 	4–3 	Eisbären Berlin
24 	46,967 	Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia 	 	2012 NHL Winter Classic 	Philadelphia Flyers 	2–3 	New York Rangers
25 	46,556 	Busch Stadium, St. Louis 	 	2017 NHL Winter Classic 	St. Louis Blues 	4–1 	Chicago Blackhawks
26 	45,808 	Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia 	 	NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game 	Philadelphia Flyers Alumni 	3–1 	New York Rangers Alumni
27 	45,653 	Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia 	 	2012 AHL Outdoor Classic 	Adirondack Phantoms 	4–3(OT) 	Hershey Bears
28 	45,021 	TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis 	 	2014 Hockey City Classic 	Minnesota Gophers (men) 	1–0 	Ohio State Buckeyes (men)
29 	42,832 	Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. 	 	2015 NHL Winter Classic 	Washington Capitals 	3–2 	Chicago Blackhawks
30 	41,022 	McMahon Stadium, Calgary 	 	2011 Heritage Classic 	Calgary Flames 	4-0 	Montreal Canadiens
31 	40,890 	Lambeau Field, Green Bay 	 	Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic 	Wisconsin Badgers (men) 	4–2 	Ohio State Buckeyes (men)
32 	40,818 	Wrigley Field, Chicago 	 	2009 NHL Winter Classic 	Chicago Blackhawks 	4–6 	Detroit Red Wings
33 	38,472 	Fenway Park, Boston 	 	Frozen Fenway 	Northeastern Huskies (women) 	3–5 	New Hampshire Wildcats (women)
33 	38,472 	Fenway Park, Boston 	 	Frozen Fenway 	Boston College Eagles (men) 	2–3 	Boston University Terriers (men)
35 	38,456 	Fenway Park, Boston 	 	Frozen Fenway 2012 	UMass Minutemen (men) 	3–2(OT) 	Vermont Catamounts (men)
35 	38,456 	Fenway Park, Boston 	 	Frozen Fenway 2012 	Maine Black Bears (men) 	5-4(OT) 	New Hampshire Wildcats (men)
37 	38,112 	Fenway Park, Boston 	 	2010 NHL Winter Classic 	Boston Bruins 	2–1(OT) 	Philadelphia Flyers
38 	37,592 	Ford Field, Detroit 	 	2010 NCAA Men's Hockey Championship Game 	Boston College Eagles (men) 	5–0 	Wisconsin Badgers (men)
39 	36,644 	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki 	 	2011 SM-liiga Winter Classic (Talviklassikko)	Jokerit 	3–4 	HIFK
40 	33,240 	Investors Group Field, Winnipeg 	 	2016 Heritage Classic 	Winnipeg Jets 	0–3 	Edmonton Oilers
==Image gallery==
File:The Big Chill 08.jpg|The Big Chill at the Big House, the highest ever attendance of an ice hockey game.
File:Eroeffnungsspiel eishockey wm 2010.jpg|2010 IIHF World Championship Opening Game
File:The Cold War UofM v.s MSU.jpg|The Cold War, held November 6, 2001 at Spartan Stadium, had the highest ever attendance of an ice hockey game at that time.
File:NHL_Winter_Classic_2008.jpg|The 2008 NHL Winter Classic has the fourth-highest ever attendance of an ice hockey game, and the second highest for a game in a professional league.
File:2009 Winter Classic.jpg|The 2009 NHL Winter Classic, held at Wrigley Field.
File:Tatze-derby.jpg|SCL Tigers versus SC Bern during the 100th match of the Tigers-Bern derby.
File:Panorama of 2010 NHL Winter Classic.jpg|The 2010 NHL Winter Classic, held at Fenway Park.
==See also==
*List of outdoor ice hockey games
== References ==
Attendance
 
Attendance
Category:Misc.