NHL Winter Classic turns Fenway into rink

BOSTON, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- The baseball field covered with ice, the green monster looming, Fenway Park became a huge hockey venue Friday for 38,112 fans at the NHL Winter Classic.

"The experience is once-in-a-lifetime," Philadelphia Flyers Coach Peter Laviolette, a Boston native, told NHL.com. "It's not just being a cliche. Fenway Park. Bruins. Flyers. Forty-thousand people on a perfect day. You couldn't ask for anything better for the game of hockey.

"It was just unbelievable to be a part of it; for our organization, for our players, for the fans. It was a great day of hockey."

The hometown Bruins beat the Flyers 2-1 in overtime in the contest, played under clear skies with temperatures in the 40s. Forecasters had predicted temperatures in the low 30s with a chance of rain or light snow before a possible snowstorm Friday night.

Last season's Winter Classic drew 40,818 to Chicago's Wrigley Field to see the Detroit Red Wings play the Blackhawks, and in 2008, an NHL-record 71,217 fans saw the Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium.