List of ice hockey games with highest attendance

This is a list of ice hockey games with the highest attendance on record. All of the games on this list were held in stadiums designed for field sports such as association football, gridiron football, and baseball. Four of the "games" listed were actually doubleheaders, in which a single ticket provided admission to two games held back-to-back. The fixed-roof Ford Field in Detroit hosted one doubleheader and a single game, and another was held at the retractable-roof Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany (with the roof closed for that game); all other games on the list were held in open-air venues. Most of these games were staged as special events, and all but one were played in the 21st century.

Attendance in the 30,000 range was once quite common for major international matches held outdoors in the 1940s and 50s in Moscow's Lenin Stadium. Figures of this type are still common in bandy, a relative of ice hockey played outdoors.

The record for a Stanley Cup playoff game, as well as for an NHL game played in a teams' regular home stadium, is 28,183, which was set on April 23, 1996, at the Thunderdome during a Tampa Bay Lightning – Philadelphia Flyers game.^[1]

A new record was set on December 11, 2010, when the University of Michigan's men's ice hockey team faced cross-state rival Michigan State in an event billed as "The Big Chill at the Big House". The game was played at Michigan's football venue, Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, with a capacity of 109,901, as of the 2010 football season. Ultimately, a crowd announced by the University of Michigan as 113,411, at that time the largest in the stadium's history (including football), saw the homestanding Wolverines win 5–0. Guinness World Records, using a count of ticketed fans who actually entered the stadium instead of UM's figure of tickets sold, announced a final figure of 104,173.^[2][3]

Rank	Attendance	Location	Date	Event	Home team	Final score	Visiting team
1	113,411 (announced)^[3] 104,173 (certified)^[2]	Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor	December 11, 2010	The Big Chill at the Big House	Michigan Wolverines (men)	5–0	Michigan State Spartans (men)
2	105,491 (announced)^[4] < 104,173 (certified)^[5]	Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor	January 1, 2014	2014 NHL Winter Classic	Detroit Red Wings	2–3 (SO)	Toronto Maple Leafs
3	85,630^[6]	Cotton Bowl, Dallas	January 1, 2020	2020 NHL Winter Classic	Dallas Stars	4-2	Nashville Predators
4	79,690^[7]	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford	February 18, 2024	2024 NHL Stadium Series	New York Islanders	5–6 (OT)	New York Rangers
5	77,803^[8]	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen	May 7, 2010	2010 IIHF World Championship	United States	1–2 (OT)	Germany^[9]
6	74,554^[10]	Spartan Stadium, East Lansing	October 6, 2001	Cold War	Michigan State Spartans (men)	3–3	Michigan Wolverines (men)
7	71,381^[11]	Gazprom Arena, Saint Petersburg	December 16, 2018	Euro Hockey Tour	Russia	5–0	Finland
8	71,217^[12]	Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park	January 1, 2008	2008 NHL Winter Classic	Buffalo Sabres	1–2 (SO)	Pittsburgh Penguins
9	70,328^[13]	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford	February 17, 2024	2024 NHL Stadium Series	New Jersey Devils	6–3	Philadelphia Flyers
10	70,205^[14]	Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California	February 21, 2015	2015 NHL Stadium Series	San Jose Sharks	1–2	Los Angeles Kings
11	69,620	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia	February 23, 2019	2019 NHL Stadium Series	Philadelphia Flyers	4–3 (OT)	Pittsburgh Penguins
12	68,619^[15]	Nissan Stadium, Nashville	February 26, 2022	2022 NHL Stadium Series	Nashville Predators	2–3	Tampa Bay Lightning
13	68,111^[16]	Heinz Field, Pittsburgh	January 1, 2011	2011 NHL Winter Classic	Pittsburgh Penguins	1–3	Washington Capitals
14	67,877^[17]	Gazprom Arena, Saint Petersburg	December 15, 2019	Euro Hockey Tour	Russia	2–0	Finland
15	67,318^[18]	Heinz Field, Pittsburgh	February 25, 2017	2017 NHL Stadium Series	Pittsburgh Penguins	4–2	Philadelphia Flyers
16	67,246^[19]	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough	January 1, 2016	2016 NHL Winter Classic	Boston Bruins	1–5	Montreal Canadiens
17	62,921	Soldier Field, Chicago	March 1, 2014	2014 NHL Stadium Series	Chicago Blackhawks	5–1	Pittsburgh Penguins
18	57,167^[20]	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton	November 22, 2003	2003 Heritage Classic	Edmonton Oilers	3–4	Montreal Canadiens
19	56,961	Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh	February 18, 2023	2023 NHL Stadium Series	Carolina Hurricanes	4–1	Washington Capitals
20	55,411	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton	October 29, 2023	2023 NHL Heritage Classic	Edmonton Oilers	5–2	Calgary Flames
21	55,031^[21]	Camp Randall Stadium, Madison	February 6, 2010	Camp Randall Hockey Classic	Wisconsin Badgers (women)	6–1	Bemidji State Beavers (women)
					Wisconsin Badgers (men)	3–2	Michigan Wolverines (men)
22	55,000^[10]	Lenin Stadium, Moscow	March 5, 1957	1957 Ice Hockey World Championships	Soviet Union	4–4	Sweden
23	54,194	BC Place, Vancouver	March 2, 2014	2014 NHL Heritage Classic	Vancouver Canucks	2–4	Ottawa Senators
24	54,099	Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles	January 25, 2014	2014 NHL Stadium Series	Los Angeles Kings	0–3	Anaheim Ducks
25	52,051	Soldier Field, Chicago	February 17, 2013	OfficeMax Hockey City Classic	Notre Dame Fighting Irish (men)	2–1	Miami RedHawks (men)
					Wisconsin Badgers (men)	3–2	Minnesota Golden Gophers (men)
26	51,125^[22]	ESPRIT arena, Düsseldorf	January 10, 2015	2015 DEL Winter Game	Düsseldorfer EG	3–2	Kölner Haie
27	50,426	TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis	February 21, 2016	2016 NHL Stadium Series	Minnesota Wild	6–1	Chicago Blackhawks
28	50,105	Yankee Stadium, New York City	January 26, 2014	2014 NHL Stadium Series	New Jersey Devils	3–7	New York Rangers
29	50,095	Coors Field, Denver	February 27, 2016	2016 NHL Stadium Series	Colorado Avalanche	3–5	Detroit Red Wings
30	50,027	Yankee Stadium, New York City	January 29, 2014	2014 NHL Stadium Series	New York Islanders	1–2	New York Rangers
31	50,000^[23]	Stadion Nürnberg, Nuremberg	January 5, 2013	2013 DEL Winter Game	Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers	4–3	Eisbären Berlin
32	47,313^[24]	T-Mobile Park, Seattle	January 1, 2024	2024 NHL Winter Classic	Seattle Kraken	3–0	Vegas Golden Knights
33	47,011^[25]	RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne	January 12, 2019	2019 DEL Winter Game	Kölner Haie	2–3 (OT)	Düsseldorfer EG
34	46,967^[26]	Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia	January 2, 2012	2012 NHL Winter Classic	Philadelphia Flyers	2–3	New York Rangers
35	46,556	Busch Stadium, St. Louis	January 2, 2017	2017 NHL Winter Classic	St. Louis Blues	4–1	Chicago Blackhawks
36	45,808^[27]	Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia	December 31, 2011	NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game	Philadelphia Flyers Alumni	3–1	New York Rangers Alumni
37	45,653^[28]	Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia	January 6, 2012	2012 AHL Outdoor Classic	Adirondack Phantoms	4–3 (OT)	Hershey Bears
38	45,523	FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland	February 18, 2023	Faceoff on the Lake	Ohio State Buckeyes (men)	4–2	Michigan Wolverines (men)
39	45,021^[29]	TCF Stadium, Minneapolis	January 17, 2014	2014 Hockey City Classic	Minnesota Gophers (men)	1–0	Ohio State Buckeyes (men)
40	44,592^[30]	Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park	December 29, 2017	2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships	United States	4-3 (SO)	Canada
41	42,832^[31]	Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.	January 1, 2015	2015 NHL Winter Classic	Washington Capitals	3–2	Chicago Blackhawks
42	41,022^[32]	McMahon Stadium, Calgary	February 20, 2011	2011 Heritage Classic	Calgary Flames	4-0	Montreal Canadiens
43	40,890^[33]	Lambeau Field, Green Bay	February 13, 2006	Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic	Wisconsin Badgers (men)	4–2	Ohio State Buckeyes (men)
44	40,818^[34]	Wrigley Field, Chicago	January 1, 2009	2009 NHL Winter Classic	Chicago Blackhawks	4–6	Detroit Red Wings
45	40,163^[35]	RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne	December 3, 2022	2022 DEL Winter Game	Kölner Haie	4–2	Adler Mannheim
46	38,472^[36]	Fenway Park, Boston	January 8, 2010	Frozen Fenway	Northeastern Huskies (women)	3–5	New Hampshire Wildcats (women)
					Boston College Eagles (men)	2–3	Boston University Terriers (men)
47	38,456^[37]	Fenway Park, Boston	January 7, 2012	Frozen Fenway 2012	UMass Minutemen (men)	3–2 (OT)	Vermont Catamounts (men)
					Maine Black Bears (men)	5-4 (OT)	New Hampshire Wildcats (men)
48	38,112	Fenway Park, Boston	January 1, 2010	2010 NHL Winter Classic	Boston Bruins	2–1 (OT)	Philadelphia Flyers
49	37,592^[38]	Ford Field, Detroit	April 10, 2010	2010 NCAA Men's Hockey Championship Game	Boston College Eagles (men)	5–0	Wisconsin Badgers (men)
50	36,644^[39]	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki	February 5, 2011	2011 SM-liiga Winter Classic (Talviklassikko)	Jokerit	3–4	HIFK

Image gallery

•  
  The Big Chill at the Big House, the highest ever attendance of an ice hockey game.
•  
  2010 IIHF World Championship Opening Game
•  
  The Cold War, held November 6, 2001 at Spartan Stadium, had the highest ever attendance of an ice hockey game at that time.
•  
  The 2008 NHL Winter Classic has the fourth-highest ever attendance of an ice hockey game, and the second highest for a game in a professional league.
•  
  The 2009 NHL Winter Classic, held at Wrigley Field.
•  
  SCL Tigers versus SC Bern during the 100th match of the Tigers-Bern derby.
•  
  The 2010 NHL Winter Classic, held at Fenway Park.
•  
  Talviklassikko 2011, Helsinki, Finland

References

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