Sabres and Penguins to play outdoors on New Year’s Day

The
Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins will make National Hockey League history
on New Year’s Day, 2008, when they play in the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic,
the League’s first regular-season outdoor game in the

United States.
The game features several of the game’s greatest young stars, including
Penguins center Sidney Crosby and Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller, and will be
played at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Buffalo
Bills.

Attendance at the contest is expected to surpass the NHL single-game record,
set Nov. 22, 2003 when the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers drew 57,167
to The Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium in

Edmonton. Ralph Wilson Stadium capacity
exceeds 73,000.

Tickets to the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic will go on sale in the
U.S. and

Canada on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 10
a.m., ET. Tickets may be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations, Ticketmaster.com,
as well as on NHL.com, PittsburghPenguins.com and Sabres.com. Tickets
also will be available at the Buffalo Bills ticket offices.

“Many of our players have great memories of playing outdoors when they
were growing up,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “This game
provides a wonderful opportunity to showcase our great players, honor hockey’s
heritage and ring in the New Year with the best fans in sports.”

Powered by some of the NHL’s top young talent, the Sabres and Penguins enter
the 2007-08 season full of optimism. The Sabres, led by the goaltending
of Ryan Miller and boosted by the offense of Thomas Vanek, captured the
Presidents’ Trophy for the best record in the regular season and advanced to
their second consecutive Eastern Conference Final. Pittsburgh’s Crosby, who
last season amassed 120 points and became the youngest player and only
teen-ager ever to win a scoring title in a major North American sports league,
captains a lineup that also includes standout forwards Evgeni Malkin and
Jordan Staal.

“We are very excited to be participating in the inaugural AMP Energy NHL
Winter Classic in

Buffalo
on New Year’s Day,” said Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano. “Staging
this event in
Buffalo, in-front of over 70,000
passionate hockey fans, will further demonstrate that

Buffalo is one of the greatest hockey cities
in the world.”

“The Pittsburgh Penguins are honored to be selected to play in the AMP
Energy NHL Winter Classic in

Buffalo,”
Penguins president David Morehouse said. “We have a lot of young players
on our team who aren’t that far removed from skating on outdoor ponds
themselves. It’s going to be a great chance to take them back to their
roots.”

NBC will provide live broadcast coverage of the historic game in the

U.S. In

Canada, CBC and
RDS will televise the event live. Radio listeners can hear live coverage
of the game on all Westwood One affiliates across the
U.S. and

Canada as well as on XM satellite
radio (channel 204).

“NBC Sports is delighted to bring this unique event to hockey fans in the

U.S. It
promises to be a memorable New Year’s Day,” said NBC Sports President Ken
Schanzer.

“CBC is thrilled to once again broadcast another historic event,”
said Sherali Najak, executive producer, CBC’s Hockey Night in

Canada.
“The excitement surrounding CBC’s broadcast of the first NHL outdoor
game in

Canada
in 2003 was incredible and we are expecting the same energy and passion for
this game as well. Hockey Night in

Canada is known around the world
for broadcasting big time event television – we are anticipating this event to
be just that.”

“RDS is pleased to bring this spectacular outdoor event to its
French-speaking viewers,” said Gerry Frappier, RDS President. “Our
hockey fans will truly have an exciting and unique way to bring in the New Year
by watching a great match-up in such a grandiose setting.”