1:00 PM: It’s finally here! And what do you know? It’s snowing up in Buffalo as Sidney Crosby and the Pens warm up to prepare for their Hockey Heritage Outdoor Classic against the host Sabres at a packed Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Buffalo netminder Ryan Miller is no stranger to the outdoors as he played in an outdoor game back in his college days at Michigan State against Michigan seven years ago.

1:03 PM: How great is this? You have Bob Costas outside near the rink live with Mike Milbury as kids are playing classic pond hockey. Just awesome!

1:05 PM: My favorite color analyst Darren Pang who looks and sounds like Scott Hamilton just finished interviewing Pens’ forward Colby Armstrong as they got ready for this exciting game.

1:07 PM: The scene just looks awesome. NBC even has a weatherman on hand and it’s 30 degrees with lake effect snow. Just wonderful. Now Pang is talking to Miller who’s sporting a tuke much like the one Jose Theodore wore when he was on the Canadiens when they defeated the Oilers four years ago up in Edmonton in the first Hockey Heritage Classic.

 

 

1:10 PM: You got to love these throwback powder blue jerseys the Pens are wearing from 30 years ago. Just awesome!

1:13 PM: The broadcasters are down at ice level as Doc Emrick and Ed Olczyk set the scene.

1:15 PM: The players have taken the ice as a crowd of better than 73,000 cheers loudly in anticipation of what should be just an awesome game.

 

Now Pang is talking to Crosby who pointed out that with snow coming down, it makes it tough to see. We’ll find out if that’s a factor as the players battle through the elements.