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Winter Classic cancelation forces AHL, OHL, NCAA games to be rescheduled

2013 Winter Classic

The 2013 Winter Classic was going to be more than just an NHL event, so its cancelation naturally caused shock waves that extended beyond the top league.

The Ontario Hockey League has never held an outdoor game before, but that was going to change on Dec. 29 when the the Saginaw Spirit played against the Windsor Spitfires. Now that game has been relocated to Dow Event Center, the home of the Spirit.

“It’s discouraging, but we’ll try to turn it into a positive,” Saginaw Spirit co-owner Craig Goslin said, according to MLive.com. “We’ve already talked to Olympia Entertainment. Whenever the game is rescheduled, we will be invited back to play at Comerica Park.”

Over 20,000 tickets were sold and fans will get a complete refund.

Additionally, the 2012 Great Lakes Invitational, which is an annual four-team NCAA tournament, was going to be held on Dec. 27 and 28 at Comerica Park. Before the Winter Classic’s cancelation was official, SB Nation reported that those games would have to be rescheduled if everything played out as feared.

Consequently, the tournament will now take place at Joe Louis Arena on Dec. 28 and 29.

On top of the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs playing, their AHL affiliates, the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toronto Marlies were going to hold an outdoor game on Dec. 30. That contest will also be moved.

AHL Grand Rapids announced that the game will now be played on Dec. 28 at Van Andel Arena, the home of the Griffins.

All that doesn’t even sum up the full extent of what the Winter Classic’s cancelation means. For further details, check out our previous article on the cancelation.

Finally, on a positive note, Michigan might get to host the 2014 Winter Classic instead.