Summer is over, bummer, but hockey action is back!

Fall is a season of many splendid things! Pumpkin beer. Beautiful foliage. Warm spiced lattes paired with cooler weather. Football. Basketball. Baseball playoffs. Hockey…for a full season!

Lots of offseason trades and many new, young faces will be filtering through each team in the NHL this coming season. With a summer break shortened from last year’s CBA drama, I can only imagine the eagerness of these guys to get the season underway!

Each year the NHL has one outside game held in a roofless stadium on New Years Day called the Winter Classic. Hockey fans love, love, love this matchup, it brings hockey back where it started, outside on the ice.

The 2013-2014 season is taking hockey outside again during the 2014 Stadium Series NY, Stadium Series LA and Stadium Series Chicago! The end of January the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils meet up for some outside puck play at Yankee Stadium. Those of us NY’ers who love hockey action can catch the New Jersey Devils take on the Rangers at 12:30PM on 1/26/14 and on 1/29/14 at 7:30PM the Islanders battle the Blueshirts.  January 25 the LA Kings host the Anaheim Ducks at Dodger Stadium and Saturday March 1 the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier Field (Chicago Bears home turf).

As a hockey fan myself, I couldn’t be happier about the change of scenery for those few games late winter 2014. However looking at things in a business sense, do we think that this Stadium Series will take away some thunder from the Winter Classic? I sure hope not. Hockey back to its almost roots during “pond play” (well outside stadium play in this case) is gritty, entertaining and raw. Just how hockey fans want to see a game played.

Summer is over and let’s get back on the ice! NHL season 2013-2014 and Stadium Series 2014 here we come!