Hockeytown Winter Festival Part 2 - The AHL Outdoor Game at Comerica Park

In the days leading up to the Winter Classic, Nick and I had a couple of days to enjoy what Detroit had to offer.  We already checked out the Hockeytown Winter Festival, and made plans to check out the D-Drop while we were here.  Because we bought our Winter Classic tickets via a tour group, we also had the opportunity to watch the American Hockey League outdoor game between the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Toronto Marlies.

Tickets to the AHL Outdoor Game & 2014 NHL Winter Classic

In case you are not familiar with the American Hockey League (AHL), it is the second-highest level of professional hockey within North America – the highest being the National Hockey League (NHL).  The two teams playing in this particular outdoor match – the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Toronto Marlies – are the AHL affiliates of the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs respectively.  While the AHL does not typically host outdoor games on its own, this game was one of a few outdoor hockey games (NHL Alumni and Ontario Hockey League) scheduled as part of the Hockeytown Winter Festival.

View from our seats during the AHL Outdoor Game

The host venue for this AHL game was Comerica Park – home of the Detroit Tigers baseball club.  While past Winter Classic games have been held in Major League Baseball stadiums, the 2014 edition was slated for Michigan Stadium as part of a Guinness World Record attempt to hold the largest outdoor hockey game in the world.  With over 110,000 seats within Michigan Stadium, this attempt was viable.

Toronto Marlies take an early 1-0 lead

The NHL Alumni games – yes, there were two Alumni games scheduled this year instead of the typical one game – were also held at Comerica Park.  However, Nick and I did not want to spend the extra money to get those tickets hoping we could visit some of the local Detroit attractions instead being our first time staying in the city.  So, it was a delight that we were able to experience a little hockey action in Comerica Park with the AHL Outdoor game.

Jamie Devane vs. Triston Grant

To be quite honest, this was my first American Hockey League game ever, so I wasn’t familiar with any of the players on either team, except for Jordin Tootoo.  He is the first Inuk player from Nunavut to play in the NHL.  At the time he was a member of the Detroit Red Wings, but sent down to the AHL to play with the Griffins for awhile.

Toronto Marlies vs. Grand Rapids Griffins

Our tickets were in the centre field area of Comerica Park, but we still had a decent view of the match.  From the looks of it, the stadium was very empty – like half of it.  Turns out attendance for the game was 20,337 although I would have pegged it closer toward 10,000 or 15,000 with all the empty seats in the stadium.  Plus, it was bloody cold!  I imagine many fans chose to stay home instead of coming to the game.

Zambonis ready to resurface the ice at the end of the period

By the end of the first period, Nick suggested we head up to the Tiger Club for a bite to eat and to warm up.  Good call!  My dinner was pretty simple – a burger with chips.  No, not “chips” as in fries like they are called in England, but actual potato chips.  Gotta love the American diet!

My dinner at the Tiger Club

I also ordered a bottle of Batch 19 Pre-Prohibition Style Lager to wash my meal down.  It was alright, but I wouldn’t say it was the most memorable craft beer I have ever had.  In reality, I just ordered it based on the name of it alone given Detroit’s position to be an easy place to bootleg beer from Canada during the Prohibition era.

Toronto Marlies vs. Grand Rapids Griffins

For the rest of the game, we ended up watching it in the comforts of the Tiger Club.  Our view of the ice was incredible as we could see the entire length of the ice.  The game ended up going to overtime with the score 3 – 3.  Since five minutes of extra time did not result in any different result, a shootout was necessary to decide a winner.  It was also a foreshadowing of what was to come later on at the Winter Classic.

Toronto Marlies win 4 – 3 in the Overtime Shootout!

In the end, the Toronto Marlies pulled out the 4 – 3 win in the shootout.  We would go on to celebrate the win at a couple of nearby bars, including Hockeytown.  Things were shaping out nicely in these last few days of 2013.

Hockeytown Winter Festival Part 1 - Coke Zero Fan Zone

Once our tour group checked in at the St. Regis Hotel, we headed to downtown Detroit to check out the Hockeytown Winter Festival.  As part of the build up to the Winter Classic, this free outdoor festival allowed fans to partake in some good, ol’ fashioned fun.

Hockeytown Winter Festival

Located right across from Comerica Park, the Hockeytown Winter Festival took up a whole city block.  This was perfect for us as we had tickets to the American Hockey League outdoor game that night between the Toronto Marlies and the Grand Rapids Griffins.  It came with the tour package that we bought through Elite Sports Tours when Nick and I decided to buy Winter Classic tickets.

Hockeytown Winter Festival

Here are some of the highlights we experienced during the Hockeytown Winter Festival.

Getting a Photo with the Comerica Park Tiger Statue

Comerica Park – home to the Detroit Tigers baseball club – was responsible for hosting some key events during the Winter Festival, including the two Alumni games between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Fans getting a photo with the Tiger statue

To commemorate this occasion, the giant tiger statue at the main entrance to Comerica Park was adorned with an over-sized Red Wings jersey.  Needless to say, many fans stood in line to get photos with the awesome display.

Red Wings Experience

The first thing that Nick and I decided to check out was the Red Wings Experience.  Upon entrance, we saw an artist painting a huge canvass that paid homage to the 2014 Winter Classic and Hockeytown Winter Festival.

The Red Wings Experience

As we continued to walk around the tent, we saw line-ups for air hockey and bubble hockey tables.  Since we only had about an hour or two to kill before the AHL Outdoor Hockey game, we didn’t linger too long in this tent.  Alcohol was available, but we grabbed some Coke Zero instead as it was free given Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the Winter Festival.  There was also a small stage near the front for music acts to play, but there was a break in the schedule while Nick and I were here.

Air Hockey game in progress at the Red Wings Experience

Snowzilla Mobile Tubing Slide

The name of this exhibit speaks for itself.  Right near the front entrance to the festival is a large inflatable tubing slide for young kids to play on.  Even though I like to believe that I am still “a kid at heart,” I gave this slide a pass for obvious reasons.

Street Hockey Rink

Across from the Red Wings Experience was a street hockey rink.  I believe there was a $5 fee to play for a set amount of time, and you had to register at the tent in front of the rink.  Neither Nick nor I were wearing appropriate attire to play some pick up street hockey, but this was definitely fun to watch for a few minutes.

Inflatable Toronto Maple Leafs Puck

Hockey Hall of Fame Tent

Next to the ball hockey rink was the Hockey Hall of Fame tent.  The lineup to get in were ridiculously long – anywhere from 20 – 45 minutes – and because we live in Toronto and can visit the Hockey Hall of Fame anytime we want, Nick and I just went in for a quick peek once the festival was about to close up for the afternoon.  Among the memorabilia displayed in the tent, getting your photo taken with the Stanley Cup was the biggest highlight for this exhibit.

Coke Zone Fan Zone at the Hockeytown Winter Festival

Synthetic Ice Surface Open Skate

We came across another rink at the Winter Festival, but this time, it was open skating rink that used synthetic ice.  Skate rentals were about $5/hour, but we gave this a pass, as well.  Time was running out on us before the AHL Outdoor game, and we still wanted to spend some time checking out Molson Canadian Hockey House.

Molson Canadian Hockey House

Canadians are quite familiar with the Molson Canadian Hockey House as this exhibit is usually found at any major sporting event, like the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  The House welcomes fans with an over-sized maple leaf entrance.

Molson Canadian Hockey House

Once inside, you basically can plop your butt at the main bar and watch the World Junior Hockey Championships in this case.  Otherwise, there are some additional games that you can play, like air hockey and bubble hockey.

Watching the World Juniors at Molson Canadian Hockey House

At the time of the 2014 Winter Classic, there was a famous commercial airing in Canada in the preceding months where Molson would randomly drop off fridges around the world.  If you were the owner of a Canadian passport, then you could scan it in the fridge to open it up and have yourself a free bottle of Molson Canadian.

Wishing I had my Passport with me to scan!

This commercial was a huge hit back home, and sure enough, the Molson Canadian fridge was here at the Hockey House.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have my Passport on me or else I would have scanned it for a free beer!

Tickets to the AHL Outdoor Game & 2014 NHL Winter Classic

Aside from that, there was not much else going on at the Festival grounds.  A couple of hours was all that was needed here before we headed into Comerica Park for the AHL Outdoor game.