The World Junior Hockey Championships featured the first ever outdoor hockey game this year at New Era Field in Buffalo, New York. The United States of America and Canada took their historic rivalry outdoors to New Era Field on the afternoon of December 29th to play an important preliminary round robin game in their pool.

Canada entered the third period with a 3-1 lead, but it was soon vanished when the States scored two goals in under a minute to send the game to overtime. After the overtime period solved nothing, the States ended up with a win in the shootout to claim the victory.

There was just under 45,000 people in attendance to catch the game, as the fans battled through the snow and wind presented by mother nature. If these two teams play one another again along the way of the tournament, the game will be played indoors in front of under 20,000.

In international rules, a round robin win that comes in overtime is only awarded 2 points in the standings, while a regulation win is worth three points. This hurts Team U.S.A. as they have only earned 5 total points through 3 games in their pool. Team Canada still remains in first place with 7 points through 3 games.

There is reason to question Canada's ability to beat the States, as the past six games that these two teams have encountered one another, the game ended up in favor of the Americans. These games include the past few years at the World Juniors, as well as games in the "Summer Showcase" which features the best available players each country has to offer.

Canada looks to control what they can by finishing off the preliminary round strong against Denmark, and look to find a groove once the playoffs settle in.