By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter @BlackAndGold277
On January 1st, 2010, the National Hockey League’s third outdoor Winter Classic was played at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. This was the second official Major League Baseball venue in the league’s long history of outdoor play, after the first, held a year prior at Wrigley Field. In this game, the home Boston Bruins hosted the Philadelphia Flyers in front of a rambunctious and sold-out Fenway Park.
It was an old-time hockey feel at the beginning of the festivities, as the festivities got started with legendary Hall of Fame members Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke skating on the Fenway sheet, setting the tone for a tight battle under Boston’s overcast skies. It was an optimal temperature in Boston at the time, as several reports note it was between 35 and 40 degrees in the state’s capital.
The game went scoreless after the first period. In the second frame, the visiting Flyers would get on the board first with a goal from defenseman Danny Syvret, who scord this first of the season, assisted by forwards Scott Hartnell and Jeff Carter at the 4:42 mark. The Syvret goal was the only tally in the second period, as the visitors set the tone in a defensive lock throughout, with both sides creating decent chances.
In the third period, veteran forward Mark Recchi would get Boston’s first goal and set Fenway Park off on an incredibly loud cheer as the B’s finally broke the ice, tying the game late in the final period. Recchi’s eighth goal of the season was assisted by defenseman Derek Morris and forward David Krejci at 17:42. Both teams would end regulation tied at 1-1, setting up a thrilling overtime period and capturing the second point in the extra session.
In overtime, forward and current Boston Bruins Head Coach Marco Sturm would be the hero at America’s oldest MLB stadium when he scored the overtime goal with just under two minutes left in the bonus period at Fenway. The assists on Sturm’s 14th of the season went to future Hall of Fame forward Patrice Bergeron and current Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara.
The Boston Bruins organization has appeared in four Winter Classics during these outdoor league festivities. Obviously, Fenway was the team’s first in 2010, but they also returned to Boston and played at the same baseball venue in 2023, when they hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Bruins’ other home venue for these outdoor games was Gillette Stadium, where they faced the Montreal Canadiens. The lone road Winter Classic for the B’s was held in South Bend, Indiana, at the fabled Notre Dame Stadium in 2019, against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks. In these games, the Bruins have an impressive 3-1 record when playing outdoors in various weather conditions.
Shoutout to Hockey FanAuthor Mike Commito and His Book, Bruins 365
In October 2025, Hockey Author Mike Commito released his book, Bruins 365, which explores an event from Boston Bruins history. After buying a copy myself, I became interested in covering daily historical events, inspired by Mike’s research. I decided to build on Mike’s recent release and publish these articles regularly, with expanded research.
If you would like your own copy of Mike Commito’s Bruins 365 book in his recent series release or would like to see the other books he’s done, please check out our Amazon-affiliated link for purchasing details.
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