Milwaukee Admirals win coldest-ever outdoor hockey game in overtime

Zach L’Heureux scored less than 1:30 into overtime, giving the Milwaukee Admirals a victory and, perhaps just as importantly, a chance to warm back up.

Playing outdoors in Hastings, Minnesota, part of the Hockey Day Minnesota celebration, the Admirals won their American Hockey League clash with the Iowa Wild, 3-2. When the puck dropped, the temperature of minus-8 degrees Fahrenheit marked the coldest outdoor game on record in the AHL or NHL, surpassing the previous record of minus–5.7 degrees in the 2022 NHL Winter Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild.

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The Admirals rallied from a 2-0 deficit to prevail, and goalie Matt Murray stopped 25 shots in the bitter cold.

The AHL has now played 13 outdoor games, and it’s the first one to include the Admirals. The team also wore specially-made navy blue jerseys for the occasion.

The game was played at the United Heroes League Complex, and at one point the cold apparently caused the equipment running the live stream to stop working

The Admirals said “several hundred” Milwaukee fans made the trip to watch their team play in the elements, with the temperature falling to minus-12 by the time the game ended. Hastings is southeast of Minneapolis, about a five hours’ drive from Milwaukee.

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The Admirals won’t get much time to warm up, though their next game will take place in friendlier environs: the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, a rematch with Iowa. The Admirals are 17-17-2-1, and in fifth place in the AHL Central Division.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Admirals win coldest-ever outdoor hockey game in overtime