Ohio Stadium: The center of Ohio…hockey?
COLUMBUS, OH. - The campus of Ohio State University was lively; fans packed the more than 90,000 seats of the iconic Ohio Stadium after a full day of tailgating and pep rallies. An all-too-common scene, that is, until making the walk through the gates of the shoe on a freezing cold Saturday night in early March to find an NHL ice rink in the middle of the field.
“It’s a historic venue, they’re the national champs, there’s buzz around that, it’s great for our fans, our city, our team and our organization, and for me it’s always fun playing against my hometown team, Detroit.” Star defenseman, Zach Werenski, said to the press before the game.
The Columbus Blue Jackets played host to the Detroit Red Wings and the 2025 NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University on Saturday, March 1st, in front of a crowd of over 90,000 fans, making it the second-highest attendance at an NHL game. The Blue Jackets brought home a five-to-three win over the Red Wings in front of the record-setting “CBJ” faithful.
"This experience was incredible, not just the win,” said Blue Jackets head coach Dean Evason. “All the stuff with Johnny made it even extra special, obviously, the stadium, the pep rally, the walk in, yeah, there’s a lot of emotion here.”
The Blue Jackets experienced an unspeakable tragedy over the summer; star player Johnny Gaudreau, along with his brother Matthew, was struck and killed by a drunk driver while riding bikes near his New Jersey home ahead of his sister’s wedding. The heartbreaking news shocked the NHL, and the weight of the loss has been felt all over the larger sports world.
Johnny’s wife, Meredith Gaudreau, attended the game with her daughter, Noa, and her son, Johnny Jr., and helped lead the team from the pep rally with Ohio State’s band into the iconic shoe before the game.
The Ohio State band performed the iconic “Script Ohio” on the ice before the puck dropped. The stadium was covered in buckeye leaves and blue jacket canons as an homage to Ohio State’s helmet sticker tradition, and an additional canon sticker was added to the field for all five of the team’s goals. And the Blue Jackets cannon from Nationwide Arena was brought over to be fired after all five goals.
The NHL has hosted plenty of outdoor games, and multiple ones on college campuses, but never before has the hosting school been that involved in the team’s branding for the game. Coming off a national championship for Ohio State, the emotion of losing Gaudreau over the summer, and the grit of being in the middle of a playoff race, the Blue Jackets and the NHL delivered an incredible experience that Columbus fans will be talking about for years to come.
TJ Corcoran
DiSportsPhotoAgency
Writer
