The New York Rangers will meet the Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park on Jan. 2 for the 2012 Winter Classic at 1 p.m. Some of the more famous stars from both teams will meet on Dec. 31 in the Alumni Game.
The Alumni Game has been rescheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. due to poor ice conditions. Despite the ice problems, the game should be fun and high scoring like All-Star games usually are. Whenever the game starts, the Rangers will see Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, Mike Gartner, Don Greschner and John Vanbiesbrouck out on the ice as starters.
Messier said about the game
"I have a long history with the Flyers because of the two Stanley Cup finals I played against Philly with Edmonton, then coming to the Rangers-Philly battles, it just seemed to extend it for me personally," Messier said. (via New York Daily News)
Here's the full Rangers alumni roster:
Goalies (2): Dan Blackburn, John Vanbiesbrouck.
Defensemen (7): Ron Greschner, Darius Kasparaitis, Tom Laidlaw, Brian Leetch, Dave Maloney, Dale Purinton, Mathieu Schneider.
Forwards (14): Glenn Anderson, Paul Broten, Ron Duguay, Nick Fotiu, Mike Gartner, Adam Graves, Pat Hickey, Kris King, Nick Kypreos, Darren Langdon, Stephane Matteau, Mark Messier, Brian Mullen, Darren Turcotte.
Coaches (3): Mike Keenan, Mike Richter, Emile Francis, Colin Campbell.
Off-Ice Ambassadors (3): Rod Gilbert, Ed Giacomin, Harry Howell.
Here's the full Flyers alumni roster:
Goalies (3): Mark LaForest, Neil Little, Bernie Parent
Defensemen (9): Terry Carkner, Eric Desjardins, Larry Goodenough, Derian Hatcher, Mark Howe, Brad Marsh, Kjell Samuelsson, Chris Therien, Joe Watson.
Forwards (17): Bill Barber, Bob Clarke, Jim Dowd, Al Hill, Bob Kelly, Orest Kindrachuk, Reggie Leach, John LeClair, Eric Lindros, Ken Linseman, Shjon Podein, Dave Poulin, Brian Propp, Mark Recchi, Jeremy Roenick, Ron Sutter, Rick Tocchet.
Coaches (3): Pat Quinn, Mike Nykoluk, Keith Primeau.
Off-Ice Ambassadors (3): Gary Dornhoefer, Dave Schultz, Ron Hextall.
-- See SB Nation New York's StoryStream for complete Winter Classic coverage. You can visit Blueshirt Banter for the Rangers perspective. For the Flyers perspective, see BroadStreetHockey or SBNation Philly.