As we found out yesterday, the Outdoor Women's Classic will be held at 2:00pm at Gillette Stadium, the site of the NHL Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens.

  • The Game: Boston Pride (NWHL) vs Les Canadiennes de Montreal (CWHL)
  • Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
  • When: 2:00pm on Thursday, December 31, before the NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game
  • Format: Two 15-minute periods.
  • Press release: NHL.com

So... We found out about this kind of late.

The report of Boston filling in their lineup with other NWHL players turned out to be true. Here are the official rosters, with players who play with other teams noted for the Pride

Outdoor Women's Classic Rosters 
Pride RosterCanadiennes Roster
Blake BoldenSydney Aveson
Kate Buesser (Connecticut Whale)Ann-Sophie Bettez
Corinne BuieEmmanuelle Blais
Kelly CookeEmilie Bocchia
Jillian DempseySophie Brault
Shannon Doyle (Connecticut Whale)Cathy Chartrand
Meghan Fardelmann (NY Riveters)Julie Chu
Emily FieldKatia Clement-Heydra
Kaleigh Fratkin (Connecticut Whale)Kim Deschenes
Marissa GedmanKarell Emard
Cherie HendricksonCarly Hill
Bray Ketchum (NY Riveters)Charline Labonte
Denna LaingNoemie Marin
Rachel LlanesLeslie Oles
Meagan MangeneCaroline Ouellette
Brittany OttMarie-Philip Poulin
Casey PickettLauriane Rougeau
Lauren SlebodnickChelsey Saunders
 
Pride Coaching StaffCanadiennes Coaching Staff
Bobby JayMarc Beaudoin
Dave JensenLisa-Marie Breton-Lebreux
Lauren McAuliffeDany Brunet

All the substituted players have ties to the Greater Boston area. Buesser is from Wolfeboro, NH and graduated from Harvard; Fratkin and Doyle are former BU Terriers; Fardelmann is a former BC Eagle; and Ketchum is a Connecticut native and Yale graduate who played for the CWHL's Boston Blades last season.

Victory Press and Stanley Cup of Chowder are hosting a meet and greet at The Fours in Boston's North End tomorrow at 8pm. All are welcome!

Despite the game's very short notice announcement, the NHL responded promptly and courteously to requests for media access, and Jashvina and I (Zoë) will be covering the game in person.

Of note is the fact that the event is being sponsored by Scotiabank. Scotiabank is a major sponsor of both the CWHL and the NHL. Patrick Burke credited Scotiabank with making the game happen.

The impact of this game is something we will have to write about in detail after the fact. For now, on to Foxborough, and Happy New Year from the Victory Press!