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Ann Arbor, Mich. • A lot of winter. Little classic hockey.
Tyler Bozak scored the winning shootout goal and Jonathan Bernier made two saves in the heart-pounding final moments, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 victory over Detroit at the snowy Winter Classic in front of the largest crowd to watch a hockey game.
The announced attendance Wednesday of 105,591 surpassed the 104,173 who saw Michigan and Michigan State skate in the same football stadium known as the Big House in 2010.
The game began with temperatures in the low teens and steady snow that didn't stop on a windy afternoon, leading to the sixth Winter Classic being much more of an event than a game.
It was, though, a closely contested spectacle.
Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg appeared to have good chance in overtime with the puck in the Maple Leafs' end and defenseman Cody Franson on his left side. The horn, however, sounded to stop play at the 2:30 mark of the extra period so that both teams played into a 10 mph wind for an equal amount of time. The game also was halted midway through the third period so that the teams could switch sides.
In the shootout, skaters for both teams attempted shots with the wind in their face toward the same net or end zone. The game-time temperate was 13 degrees with a wind chill of zero.
The average temperature of the previous five Winter Classics was 39 degrees, and the average attendance was 53,045.
A slew of skaters with shovels cleared significant amounts of snow during early stoppages in play, but players still had a tough time pushing the puck through piles of the white stuff. Atlantic Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Boston 40 26 12 2 54 117 86
Tampa Bay 39 23 12 4 50 110 93
Montreal 41 23 14 4 50 103 94
Toronto 42 21 16 5 47 118 120
Detroit 42 18 14 10 46 109 120
Ottawa 42 17 18 7 41 118 135
Florida 41 15 20 6 36 96 130
Buffalo 40 11 25 4 26 71 113
Metropolitan Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Pittsburgh 42 29 12 1 59 131 96
Washington 40 20 15 5 45 122 119
Philadelphia 40 20 16 4 44 105 111
New Jersey 41 17 16 8 42 97 103
N.Y. Rangers 41 20 19 2 42 96 109
Carolina 40 15 16 9 39 96 118
Columbus 40 17 19 4 38 109 117
N.Y. Islanders 41 13 21 7 33 107 138
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Chicago 42 28 7 7 63 158 115
St. Louis 39 27 7 5 59 139 93
Colorado 39 24 11 4 52 114 100
Dallas 39 20 12 7 47 115 113
Minnesota 42 20 17 5 45 97 109
Winnipeg 42 19 18 5 43 114 121
Nashville 40 18 18 4 40 95 119
Pacific Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Anaheim 42 29 8 5 63 137 106
San Jose 40 25 9 6 56 131 104
Los Angeles 41 25 12 4 54 110 83
Vancouver 41 23 11 7 53 111 97
Phoenix 39 20 10 9 49 120 120
Calgary 40 14 20 6 34 96 126
Edmonton 42 13 24 5 31 109 143
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Wednesday's Games
Toronto 3, Detroit 2, SO
Tampa Bay at Vancouver, late
Thursday's games
Nashville at Boston, 5 p.m.
Chicago at N.Y. Islanders, 5 p.m.
Carolina at Washington, 5 p.m.
Winnipeg at Ottawa, 5:30 p.m.
Los Angeles at St. Louis, 6 p.m.
Buffalo at Minnesota, 6 p.m.
Montreal at Dallas, 6:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Colorado, 7 p.m.
Columbus at Phoenix, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at San Jose, 8:30 p.m.