Frozen Fenway Fireworks in the Future

After three weeks of waiting out the inevitable, it was finally announced Wednesday afternoon, by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, that the 2010 Winter Classic would match the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers from historic Fenway Park in downtown Boston.

Speculation early last month indicated that the game potentially could have pitted the Bruins against Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, but NBC reportedly informed NHL officials that ratings would be higher if the Flyers were included in the game. Whether or not this is the reason the Flyers were chosen is up for argument, but the decision is final nonetheless.

The NHL kept the baseball park theme for the location, after witnessing the wonderful success of the 2009 game between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field in the Windy City.

This game rekindles an old rivalry from the 1970s. The Bruins and Flyers had many great battles in that decade, including the memorable 1974 Stanley Cup Finals, where Flyers netminder Bernie Parent stole the show and helped the Flyers reach their goal of winning their first Stanley Cup.

Even in recent years, the Philly/New England rivalry has been furious on the ice. In 2007, an innocent looking hit by Randy Jones on Patrice Bergeron placed the Bruins forward on injured reserve for the remainder of that season, and his poor reaction to Jones' apologies only fueled the fire between the two clubs.

Talent wise, this game will feature many of the most underrated players in the game. The Flyers' young corps of Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Claude Giroux and company, coupled with big bruising defenseman Chris Pronger, will go up against Boston and the likes of Marc Savard, David Krejci, Bergeron, and their own bruising d-man Zdeno Chara, the reigning Norris Trophy winner for best defenseman in the league.

The Bruins took home the NHL Eastern Conference's regular season title a year ago, and the Flyers are still left with a bitter taste in their mouth from their first round playoff defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

For two cities with such storied histories in all sports, a Winter Classic pitting the two against one another is bound to be a lifetime memory for all those associated with the clubs, from management and players, to just merely the 40,000 or so who will be on hand to see the game.

Ticket information will be announced in the weeks to come, but for Boston and Philadelphia, the countdown is already on to New Years, and an extra special celebration to ring in a new decade.

Much more on this as the date draws closer. This blogger will even have thoughts from Boston that memorable day.

Photo courtesy flyers.nhl.com