The game is the fourth time the two teams have met for an outdoor game, the first of which took place Oct. 6, 2001 at Spartan Stadium. The teams skated to a 3-3 tie in “The Cold War.”

Athletic Director Mark Hollis spoke to The State News on Saturday, and one topic Hollis came back to was how proud he was of a tradition that he helped start.

“We tried something that had never been tried,” he said. “And since then it’s been replicated over 100 times. It kind of showed what Michigan State was all about.”

Hollis said he was proud of how a commonplace event in modern day hockey got its start at MSU. He said of all the games on campus during his tenure that was his favorite one.

“The outdoor hockey game is probably (number) one because of the uniqueness of it,” he said. “When you look back the outdoor hockey game has been replicated something like 130 times.”

The game is part of the Hockey City Classic which will also feature a matchup between Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio).