A paid crowd of 50,105 endured brutal cold Sunday at Yankee Stadium to see the first outdoor NHL game ever played in New York City.
The mercury dipped into the l0w 20s, with a windchill that made it feel more like 10, as bundled-up fans shivered through every slap shot, check and save.
“Icing” described Rangers and Devils fans, more than errant clearing passes in the rink. A steady, light snow fell on the Stadium beginning in the second period.
“It is so cold, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime event at Yankee Stadium so it is worth it,” said Devils fan Sam Nerula, 19. “I am glad I am here but I don’t think I will do it again.”
For fans who stuck it out – at least those wearing blue – they were rewarded with a 7-3 Rangers victory.
The Rangers have one more date with Mother Nature, as they take the ice on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium to play the Islanders, in another brutal test fan resolve.
The high temperature in the Bronx that day is forecast to be 21 degrees – and down to about 16 degrees by puck drop at 7:30 p.m. With windchill, the real-feel will be closer to 5 to 10.
“I’m too old for this. It was freezing,” said fan Fran Mayson, 52, as he left Sunday’s game in the second period.
“ I have a ticket for the Wednesday game against the Islanders but am not going. It is supposed to be even colder. I told one of my cousins they can have the ticket.”
But if you’re a glass-half-frozen kind of optimist, at least it won’t be snowing Wednesday night.
“There will be some snow and ice to the south, around the North Carolina coast line,” said Accuweather meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski.
“But with the cold air [front around New York] that should push the [snow] storm track out to the water.”
Sunday’s game started an hour late, because of sun glare from on one end of the makeshift rink.
The sun, shining over the first-base lip of the stadium, would have caused problems for players in the third-base end where the Blueshirts would defend in the first period, officials said.
“The sun was too bright and the glare too much to be safe for the players,” said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly.
The game was technically a Devils home date, so festivities had a decidedly Garden State vibe.
The Broadway cast of “Jersey Boys” entertained fans before the game, while the Jersey Shore’s Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes played between periods.