Two numbers to take away from Wednesday night's professional hockey game between the Williamsport Outlaws and the Dayton Storm (aside from the 5-2 final score in favor of visiting Dayton): 3,447 and 67.
The first represents a record attendance figure, by more than 300 fans, for any Federal Hockey League game ever played. The second represents the game-time temperature at Bowman Field, Pennsylvania's oldest minor-league baseball stadium, where the Outlaws are playing their temporary outdoor rink.
The players weren't the only ones in short pants on opening night. "It's interesting watching outside without being cold," said 26-year-old fan Kyle Bertin, as reported by the Associated Press.
Unseasonably warm weather denied Williamsport players ice time for weeks during training camp, but the season opener went off without a hitch. "Hockey in [near] 70-degree weather," Outlaws' coach Chris Firriolo told television station WNEP. "No one thought we could pull it off."
