ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Toronto Maple Leafs particularly enjoyed a picturesque but cold and snowy outdoor hockey game that probably broke an all-time attendance record. <\/p>\n
Left winger Joffrey Lupul and center Tyler Bozak scored in a shootout to give Toronto a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday afternoon at Michigan Stadium in the 2014 Winter Classic. <\/p>\n
The game was expected to break the hockey attendance record of 104,173, which was also set at Michigan Stadium on Dec. 11, 2010, at the Big Chill at the Big House college game between Michigan and Michigan State. There were 105,491 tickets sold Wednesday. <\/p>\n
\"I don't know if we set the official Guinness (World Records) ticket record, but I know we set our own (NHL) record,\" NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. <\/p>\n
The old NHL record was 71,217, set in the 2008 Winter Classic at Ralph Wilson Stadium outside of Buffalo. <\/p>\n
Bettman added that because of the weather, it took some fans 2 1\/2 hours to get to Ann Arbor from Detroit. The cities are about 45 miles apart. Bettman said some fans didn't arrive until the second period. <\/p>\n
The game was played in a steady snowfall, and the temperature was a little above 10 degrees with a below-zero wind chill. Both goalies regularly had their water bottles replaced because the water was freezing. Due to the snow, the ice surface was shoveled during breaks more than usual. <\/p>\n
\"It was a little chilly out there, but it got warmer during the game,\" Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. \"I spent 18 years in Winnipeg, so I know cold.\" <\/p>\n
Left winger James van Riemsdyk and Bozak scored for Toronto (21-16-5) in the first 60 minutes. Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped 41 shots. <\/p>\n
\"Obviously, we needed the two points. We kind of had to stay focused,\" Bernier said. \"We wanted to have a fun game, but we were able to come out of it with two points.\" <\/p>\n
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Leafs best Red Wings in Winter Classic shootout<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Toronto Maple Leafs particularly enjoyed a picturesque but cold and snowy outdoor hockey game that probably broke an all-time attendance record. Continue reading