UMass hockey coach looks forward to a Frozen Fenway game on Saturday
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AMHERST - As he watched the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers play outside at Citizen's Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia Monday afternoon in the NHL's annual Winter Classic, University of Massachusetts hockey coach Don "Toot" Cahoon couldn't help but feel excited.
He knew that less than a week later he'd be leading his own team in a game with a similar environment as the Minutemen will face Vermont, Saturday at 4 p.m. at Fenway Park in Boston. The game is a part of the 16-day Frozen Fenway event.
"It was really vivid in my mind as I watched it, what it is that we're going to be a part of," Cahoon said. "It's an opportunity to be part of a big game again in a venue that I treasure like every guy that grew up in greater Boston."
While the Minutemen didn't participate in the first Frozen Fenway in 2010, Cahoon was at the event and had a chance to skate on the rink.
"It was unbelievable. It was a winter wonderland, no other way to describe it. I'm excited that these guys are going to be in the middle of that event. It's going to give everyone goose bumps. No question in my mind," he said. "Growing up, many of the prep schools had outdoor rinks. They're some of the most beautiful moments of my life playing hockey. This is going to give these kids the opportunity to experience one of those great moments in hockey, being outdoors, being in the elements. Having 38,000 people around is a huge bonus."
Cahoon's challenge this week is to keep his players from daydreaming about Fenway, because Schneider Arena awaits Thursday night when the Minutemen play at Providence at 7 p.m.
"The craziness is to try to put that aside. You want to be focused on the preparation of going to Providence and hopefully winning a game at Providence," Cahoon said. "I'm hoping they understand the importance of staying with the task at hand."
Even after the Providence game, Cahoon said the players need to be focused on playing an important game against Vermont, not just being part of the event.
"For the players it's going to be a challenge for them to take this all in and enjoy it as it should be enjoyed and still wrap themselves around the fact that they're playing a league game," said Cahoon, who'll have to push the novelty of the event to the back of his mind. "I'll be very cognizant of what I'm a part of, but my focus has to be on the business of coaching the team and executing a game plan."
When it's over, Cahoon, who attends between four and eight Red Sox games per season, will look back on Saturday as another in a long line of memorable Fenway experiences for him. At age 11, he sat in the park with his father, Fran "Jersey" Cahoon, and watched Ted Williams hit a home run in his last at bat.
"We sat on the third baseline toward left field, back about probably 30 rows. The place was more than half empty," said a smiling Cahoon, who then leapt up from his sitting position in the Mullins Center practice rink with his right first raised in celebration, imitating his dad. "I remember him jumping out of his seat shouting, 'He did it!'"
Cahoon was at Fenway again in 1975 to see the Red Sox beat Oakland in the 1975 American League Championship Series.
"The energy of the park was really striking that day," Cahoon said.
On Saturday he'll coach not far from where he threw out a ceremonial first pitch in 2003, when UMass unveiled the new Minuteman logos at the park.
"It was a knuckleball," said Cahoon, who defended his lack of control. "It was high and inside. I was moving it off the plate."
FROZEN IN TIME - Obviously outdoor hockey is more old than new as the game's roots stem from play on frozen lakes and ponds, but outdoor hockey events first became trendy on Oct. 6, 2001, when 74,554 fans showed up at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., to see Michigan and Michigan State play in what they dubbed "The Cold War."
The NHL jumped on board two years later for the Heritage Classic, the league's first regular season outdoor game pitting Montreal and Edmonton at Commonweath Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta. It was a precursor to the Winter Classic, the league's annual Jan. 1 game that's became a permanent part of the NHL calendar since 2008.
There have been several college games following "The Cold War." Wisconsin played Ohio State in the Frozen Tundra Classic at Green Bay's Lambeau Field in 2006. Wisconsin then hosted Michigan at the Camp Randall Holiday Classic in Madison in 2010.
The biggest outdoor game at any level came on Dec. 11, 2010, when Michigan and Michigan State played in front of 113,411 in the Big Chill at the Big House at Michigan Stadium.
The concept only really failed once. Last year Connecticut hosted two outdoor men's college games at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. UConn played Sacred Heart, and American International played Army on separate nights. The two games combined drew 2,712 fans.
UMass' game with Vermont is one of four Division I college games at Fenway this year and one of five outdoor games anywhere this year. Maine will play New Hampshire immediately after the Minutemen and Catamounts. Harvard and Union play on Jan. 13 and Boston College and Northeasten play Jan. 14.
Ohio State will play Michigan in the The Frozen Diamond Faceoff at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Jan. 15.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.
