The National Hockey League, USA Hockey and the New York Rangers all joined at Trump Wollman Rink in Central Park yesterday to celebrate Hockey Day in America, sponsored by Discover Card. The day consisted of a full day open skate, along with a youth hockey clinic overseen by USA Hockey and featuring former Rangers Ron Duguay, Nick Fotiu, Dan Blackburn and Ron Greschner.
Several similar clinics were held across the country to commemorate the day, which was the culmination of hockey weekend across America - an initiative encouraging Americans to appreciate and get more involved in the game.
NBC hosted three games. In the first game the Pittsburg Penguins had a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Following that, the Chicago Blackhawks had a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. In the final game, the New York Rangers beat the Washington Capitals 2-1.
NBC also held a pre-game show with segments that profiled Ice Hockey in Harlem - a non-profit that serves youth north of 110th Street in Manhattan by encouraging academic achievement, teamwork and character through the sport of hockey; Jabob Jablonski's Road to Recovery - about the parallel recoveries of a high school JV player from Minneapolis that was paralyzed from the chest down after a check from behind, and his boyhood idol, Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson, who simultaneously underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament; Hockey Hair - an investigation into the NHL history of long, flowing hair by Michelle Beadle and Jeremy Roenick; and A Little Boys Winter Classic - a children's classic started this year during the NHL lockout by eight-year old Christopher John, which has so far raised $25,000 for Hurricane Sandy relief.