FSN Detroit will rebroadcast the historic Cold War Hockey Game between Michigan State and Michigan on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2004, from 8-10 p.m. The outdoor hockey game, which was originally held on Oct. 6, 2001, saw a world-record 74,554 people jam Spartan Stadium to watch the Spartans and Wolverines skate to a 3-3 overtime draw.
The world record that was broken was set on March 5, 1957, when 55,000 watched the Soviet [nl]Union play Sweden in a World Championship gold medal game at Lenin Stadium in Moscow.
The ice rink was located in the center of Spartan Stadium’s football field, extending beyond the 20-yard lines. The portable ice surface was installed on top of a layered platform, while the ice surface was frozen using a series of aluminum plates and chilled with a 281-ton refrigeration unit.
It took just nine business days to sell the game out.
The Spartans and Wolverines entered the game ranked among the top five in the nation as it marked the 2001 season opener for both squads. The record crowd braved chilly temperatures hovering just above freezing with wind gusts reaching nearly 30 mph.
The game saw plenty of back and forth action as MSU’s Adam Hall scored the first goal just 3:25 into the opening period. Michigan’s Jason Ryznar tied it 1-1 late in the first, before Mike Cammalleri gave the Wolverines a 2-1 lead early in the second.
MSU’s Duncan Keith scored on a two-man advantage to knot the game at two at 5:43 of the third, before Cammalleri gave U-M a 3-2 lead with 8:48 remaining in the game. Perhaps the biggest goal was scored by then-freshman Jim Slater, who tallied the game-tying marker with 47 seconds left in the game.
In the end, Hall said, “It was amazing. I couldn’t feel my body because of all the adrenaline. The crowd was going crazy. It was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”
