Ohio State and Michigan to Play Outdoors in Cleveland

The preseason is over and it’s officially game week in the world of college football, which means that the Big Ten finally got around to announcing their hockey schedule for the 2022-2023 season.

Most notable in the schedule release is that Ohio State will host an outdoor game against Michigan on February 18th at FirstEnergy Stadium, home of the Cleveland Browns.

This will be the first hockey game played at the Browns’ stadium, though not the first time those two teams have met in Cleveland. The Buckeyes and Wolverines played an outdoor game at Cleveland’s Progressive Field on January 15, 2012.

The trend of outdoor hockey games has slowed from its’ peak in the early 2010s. Last year, Minnesota State hosted St. Thomas under heavy snowfall on the school’s Blakeslee Stadium football field as part of Hockey Day Minnesota festivities in the only men’s D-1 college game played outdoors. Fenway Park in Boston will also host college outdoor games this year in the lead-up to Boston hosting this year’s NHL Winter Classic.