Bears fall in OT in Outdoor Classic

Photo by Tim Lambert/witf

Hershey hosts Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the 2013 AHL Outdoor Classic

(Hershey) -- The AHL made sure fans could still enjoy an outdoor hockey game this season.

The American Hockey League held its annual midseason game outside Sunday when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins met the Hershey Bears on an ice sheet built inside a football stadium on the grounds of an amusement park.

The puck dropped around sunset, while bright lights flashed on the idle wooden roller-coaster tracks behind the stadium.

The Penguins would prove victorious, scoring the winning goal in overtime to make the score 2-1.

The NHL returned this weekend from a months-long lockout.

But its popular Winter Classic, which was supposed to pit the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 1 in Ann Arbor, Mich., was cancelled and wasn't rescheduled.

Photo by Tim Lambert/witf

Celebration at the 2013 AHL Outdoor Classic

The game went on for the AHL. League president David Andrews said attendance was up about 7 percent across the AHL.

Photo by Tim Lambert/witf

2013 AHL Classic at Hersheypark Stadium

A sell-out crowd of 17,000 packed Hersheypark Stadium for the game. This is the fifth time the AHL has held its Outdoor Classic.