The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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M ichigan's outdoor-game expe- rience this season will likely give pause to future considerations, but the Wolverines were nonetheless happy to play at Soldier Field in Chi- cago Feb. 7, and were even happier to come away from the contest with a 4-1 win over rival Michigan State. The victory improved U-M's re- cord to 3-3-1 in seven career outdoor contests, and 2-1-1 in four matchups with MSU. The night before the Hockey City Classic, strong winds played havoc on the ice, cracking the surface. Warmer-than-expected temperatures and sunny skies created an even greater mess on game day, leaving puddles around the blue lines, face- off circles and goal creases where painted markings attracted more sunlight. Slated to play at 8 p.m. EST, Michi- gan had to wait closer to 9:40 p.m. before the puck was dropped. And with a local sports curfew of mid- night local time, there were rumors the game would be postponed. The end result, however, was a win and another once-in-a-lifetime experience. "We were excited to get out here and play because that's what we came here for, and there was a lot of excitement," said sophomore J.T. Compher, a Chicago native. "We were told a bunch of different sce- narios of what could happen, but all we wanted to do was play." "It reminded me of last year when we played at Comerica Park [in Detroit]," sophomore goalie Zach Nagelvoort added. "Obviously, the football stadium feels huge. We didn't get 70,000 here, but it was still cool. There were definitely times you could hear the fans." The Hockey City Classic an- nounced an attendance of 22,751, but that tally took into account an early afternoon contest between Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan, and counted tickets sold and not neces- sarily the fans that clicked through the turnstiles. Two years earlier, in a game pitting Big Ten rivals Wiscon- sin and Minnesota against each other, the Hockey City Classic drew 52,051. Certainly, the constant delays im- pacted the Michigan/Michigan State turnout, but the relatively miniscule attendance is leaving some to ask whether the outdoor experience has reached its saturation point. "What's lost is the uniqueness of it, obviously," Fox Sports Detroit col- lege and NHL hockey analyst Darren MICHIGAN HOCKEY U-M Improves Its Outdoor-Game Record DIGITAL BONUS: CLICK THE ICON TO PLAY OR STOP THE PODCAST Looking back at U-M's games at Minnesota