20 Years Later, 'Cold War' A Warm Memory

By Neil Koepke, MSUSpartans.com staff writer

EAST LANSING – David McAuliffe doesn't remember when he first got the idea. It could have been when he was in high school or as a student at Michigan State.

It was an idea that changed the landscape of college hockey and the National Hockey League.

McAuliffe's idea: Let's play an outdoor hockey game at Spartan Stadium and with Michigan as the opponent.

When McAuliffe was an assistant hockey coach at Michigan State, he'd often mention his idea to then-Spartan coach head Ron Mason.

"For a few years, I said to Ron, 'Let's try this.' Ron would always say, 'you're nuts,''' McAuliffe said. "I grew up watching Michigan State football and hockey, especially hockey because I was a player. I saw the spectacle of a football Saturday and Michigan State hockey was starting to emerge again under Ron.

"I thought it would be really cool to see a hockey game in that setting. I thought it could work.''

Not only did it work – on Oct. 6, 2001 – the game was an overwhelming success and one of the most talked-about games in Michigan State and college hockey history.

Twenty years ago today, the first regular-season outdoor hockey game in North America – aptly-named the Cold War - ended in a tie – No. 1 Michigan State 3, No. 4 Michigan 3. The sellout crowd of 74,544 was the largest to watch a hockey game at that time.

Spartan freshman center Jim Slater's dramatic goal with 47 seconds left tied the game, 3-3, and a scoreless overtime left the game in a draw.

Since the Spartans took the risk of putting on something that had never been done in North America, there have more than 100 outdoor games in the United States and Canada.

There have been 61 games involving men's and women's college teams and 29 NHL games played outdoors. Three more NHL games are set for this season.

Michigan State announced plans for the Cold War in July, 2001. It sold out quickly.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine selling out Spartan Stadium in nine days,'' Mason said after ticket sales were stopped. Mason coached MSU for 23 years – from 1979-2002. He passed away in June, 2016.

Mark Hollis, MSU's associate athletic director at the time and later the athletic director, listened to McAuliffe's idea during a function in the club seats at Munn Arena and was intrigued.

"We were watching a MSU basketball game at an event in the club-seating area at Munn Arena and Ron Mason said to me, 'tell Mark about your idea' and I did. Mark said he would investigate this a bit,'' McAuliffe said.

Hollis shared the idea with some people, including his wife, Nancy and their response was "are you crazy?''

"Every time I hear 'are you crazy' or 'no way,' that just drives stakes in the ground for me,'' Hollis said. "We sat down with Ron and he liked the idea, and I vividly remember going over to talk with (MSU president) Peter McPherson. He had a cigar in his hand and when we were presenting it, he smirked a little bit, but I remember him saying 'I like it.'

"So, we walked out of the office and Ron said, 'Well, now we've got to figure out how to do it.''

Cold War

At the time, setting up a hockey rink in the middle of a football field was no easy task. There were all sorts of challenges, work to be done, and it involved lots of people at Michigan State.

"Coming out of 9/11, the biggest challenge was the individual who operated all the equipment was in Canada and couldn't get across the border,'' Hollis said. "So, MSU's physical plant team, while talking with him, had to do all the mechanics and figure things out.

"It was one of those events Michigan State came together to do something great and in unison. Folks from all over campus were excited about it and wanted to be part of it.''

Hollis said senior associate athletic director Greg Ianni, assistant athletic director Paul Schager and Munn Ice Arena manager Tom Campbell "were in the forefront but there were people all over campus chipping in to set up the system and break down the system.''

"That's what I'm most proud of. It was how the people who didn't have to be involved wanted to come and executed at high level,'' Hollis said.

Soon after announcing the Cold War game, Hollis and his staff quickly realized this wasn't just about a hockey game between archrivals. It was an event.

"We wanted to keep tickets cheap and make it a great experience and once we sold out, we wanted to add to the experience,'' Hollis said. "So, we added Shannon Brown, a country western singer from Nashville, and we had Gordie Howe drop the first puck, and we added the pyrotechnics.

"You watch the NHL's Winter Classic now and you know that it likely would not be in place if Michigan State had not taken the risk and been innovative in thinking outside the box. That was the greatness of the event. It delivered so many memories for people all over the country.''

McAuliffe said he was convinced the outdoor game would work after the Los Angles Kings and New York Rangers played an NHL exhibition game in the parking lot of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Sept. 27, 1991.

"That cemented it for me that it could work here,'' he said. "They played it in September. It was warm and it worked, and I thought there was no way we couldn't do this.

"But obviously, I didn't have to worry about all the logistics and details. I just had to throw out the idea,'' McAuliffe said with a laugh.

However, the game almost had to be postponed or canceled because of one thing the set-up crew could not control: The weather.

The ice was put in a week before the event but on Tuesday and Wednesday the weather turned warm.

"It was sunny and in the 80s and the ice started melting,'' McAuliffe said. "Everyone was on pins and needles. We were worried.''

"We had sun and wind and they're the two most damaging things on ice,'' Hollis said. "I do remember the whitecaps going across the ice with the warm spell, and (NHL ice guru) Dan Craig coming in from the NHL and providing expertise. There was concern on Wednesday but we also saw the (cool) weather coming in and it turned out perfectly.

"Some of the players said the ice was some of the best they've ever skated on.''

On Friday, Michigan State practiced in a downpour of rain while Michigan opted to skate at Munn Arena. A cold front moved in and the rain actually helped.

"By game time, it was 34-36 degrees and cloudy, and in a sense, it was perfect conditions for the game – for the players and fans,'' McAuliffe said.

Finally, on Saturday evening at 7 p.m., the long-anticipated Cold War battle started. While there would be no winner, the contest was a classic with lead changes and highlight-reel goals, setting up a great finish – at least for Michigan State.

MSU's Adam Hall opened the scoring just 3:35 into the game, but Michigan's Jason Ryznar tied it with 2:47 left in the opening period. Wolverine standout Mike Cammalleri beat standout MSU goalie Ryan Miller at 3:08 of the second period to give his team a 2-1 lead.

Cold War

But the Spartans answered quickly. Freshman defenseman Duncan Keith tied it at 5:43 with Miller picking up an assist. Tied 2-2 entering the third period, Cammalleri gave his team a 3-2 lead at 11:13 with his second goal and third point of the night.

With Miller pulled for sixth attacker, the Spartan managed to avoid a stinging defeat.

Slater's shot from the right circle beat U-M goalie Josh Blackburn at 19:13 to lift MSU into a 3-3 tie, igniting a celebration on the ice and among the joyous Spartan fans in the record gathering.

Twenty years later, the memory of the game and his clutch goal are still vivid for Slater, now a development coach for the Washington Capitals after a 14-year pro career, including 10 seasons in the NHL.

"Coming off a faceoff, the biggest play to set it up was (defenseman) Brad Fast making an unbelievable read, pinching in and keeping the puck in the zone at the (left) blue line,'' Slater said. "The puck went toward the net and I kind of snuck off to the right side near the faceoff dot, and the rebound just happened to pop right on my stick.

"I wanted to get the puck off my stick as quick as possible because the goalie was down. I was able to get it high enough and it tied it up.''

Slater and Hall each had a goal and an assist. Fast assisted on two goals and Miller made 19 saves as MSU held a slight 24-22 edge in shots.

Slater said the build-up to the game and the contest itself are among his top three greatest memories in hockey. He never played an outdoor game in the NHL.

"It was wild. I remember when they first announced the game and I was just coming to Michigan State as a freshman. I got calls from family saying make sure they get tickets,'' Slater said. "It was my first college game, my first goal and you come to Michigan State to play Michigan. It was an amazing experience.''

Twelve players in the Cold War went on to play in the NHL – seven for Michigan State and five for Michigan. The Spartans included Slater, Miller, Keith, Fast, Hall, John-Michael Liles and Andrew Hutchinson. The Wolverines' NHLers included Cammalleri, Mike Komisarek, Eric Nystrom, Jed Ortmeyer and David Moss.

The Cold War game was televised by Fox Detroit with a broadcast team that included Matt Shepard, Billy Jaffe, Shireen Saski, John Keating, Fred Pletch and Trevor Thompson. Several other Fox Sports regional stations and a sports network in Canada carried the game tape-delayed.

"I thought it was great event for hockey. I love the sport and the people associated with the sport, but I never felt that hockey did a good job of promoting the game and its people,'' said Shepard, who did play-by-play, and who just finished his second season as the voice of the Detroit Tigers.

"The Cold War did a wonderful job of accentuating what the sport could be. It really helped the sport because it was such a phenomenal game, and to have so many players go on to the NHL was great.

"It as an absolute thrill to do that game. I remember seeing a quote from Wayne Gretzky that said he watched every minute of the game, and that's when it really hit me. And then when you hear NHL players saying they watched the game, then you realize this was a world-wide game.''

Shepard said Fox Detroit treated the Cold War game like it was a Red Wings Stanley Cup game, Pistons playoff game or a Tigers playoff game, with its "best production people.''

"You can say what you want about the state of Michigan, especially Detroit, but the thing you have to admit is that when they do events, they do it right,'' Shepard said. "Whether it's the MLB All-Star game, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup Final or the NBA Finals, it's done so well. That should make everybody super proud the way this state handles big events.

"For the Cold War, everything was so first rate that you couldn't have asked for more - by MSU and our production team.''

After the Cold War, Hollis continued with out-of-the box events as MSU basketball played Kentucky in the BasketBowl at Ford Field in Detroit in December, 2003, drawing a record crowd of 78,129.

The Spartan basketball team then played North Carolina on the deck of an aircraft carrier in the Carrier Classic just outside of San Diego in November, 2011, and Tom Izzo's team followed up by playing Connecticut in the Armed Forces Classic at Ramstein Air Base base in Germany in November, 2012.

And, of course, outdoor hockey games became common all over the U.S. and Canada. Two years after the Cold War, the NHL set up the Heritage Classic in Edmonton, Alberta, matching the Oilers and Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens won, 5-3, in extreme cold in front of 57,167 fans.

The first college outdoor game after the Cold War was at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, matching Wisconsin and Ohio State. The Badgers won 4-2.

"It was days and weeks and years after the Cold War that you felt you were part of something special. It was the brand of Michigan State,'' said Hollis, now vice president of Rock Ventures in Detroit and the chairman of the Detroit Sports Commission.

"It was a defining moment for our university – that we're great and we're great because of innovation and risk taking. There can only be one first and we take a lot of pride in that. Our whole team did and that's what made it so special.''

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