For hockey fans, the first day of 2014 is always a big deal. In addition to being the start of a brand-new year, fans around North America get to look forward to the league’s annual outdoor game, officially known as the NHL Winter Classic.
This year, the outdoor matchup featured the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings playing in front of over 100,000 fans at Michigan Stadium. The game itself was phenomenal, but for all intents and purposes, so were the social media channels of the Red Wings, Maple Leafs and the National Hockey League.
Before we jump into the photos and tweets, let’s start with some hashtag insights. According to hashtag.org, roughly 133,000 tweets featuring #WinterClassic were sent between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. alone! And that’s just Twitter. Instagram, as of 6 p.m. Wednesday evening, has seen over 44,400 posts with the #WinterClassic hashtag.
For even more hashtag statistics, we recommend checking out tagboard.com, which pulls in #WinterClassic tweets, Instagram posts, Google+ updates and more – all in one place. Here’s their page for all things #WinterClassic.
Now, let’s highlight some of the best pieces of content published on the social web from the Red Wings, Maple Leafs and the National Hockey League.
The National Hockey League took advantage of the snowfall in Michigan to show how the empty stadium looked just before fans were allowed in. Truly a site to behold.
Another update got Detroit and Toronto fans engaged in discussion after the Maple Leafs tied the game 1-1. As a result, 400 comments and over 450 shares.
Finally, after a 3-2 shootout victory, the Toronto Maple Leafs shared news of their victory with their 780K+ fans on Facebook.
As usual, Twitter received a tremendous amount of attention during the Winter Classic. While the NHL got creative with a few Vines throughout the afternoon, the Red Wings and Maple Leafs stayed focused on pushing out game photos and live tweeting key moments from the game.
Here’s a quick roundup of some of the best coverage as found on Twitter:
Hear @DetroitRedWings fans roar after tying goal. https://t.co/JhVtsjzIz3 #WinterClassic
— NHL (@NHL) January 1, 2014
#WinterClassic bliss for these fans. https://t.co/1krqhmY0lK — NHL (@NHL) January 1, 2014
Jonathan Bernier rocking the toque on the helmet #SEAofBLUE #WinterClassic pic.twitter.com/NysSh7pQJH — Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 1, 2014
*Bonus points go to Toronto for branding their photos with their #SEAofBlue hashtag as well as the team’s website.
#SEAofBLUE video: Here it is the #Leafs first ever goal in a #WinterClassic http://t.co/K8o5YPXI6V #NHL
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 1, 2014
#SEAofBLUE photo: Phaneuf & Datsyuk collide during #WinterClassic action pic.twitter.com/lFXjcRIF21
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 1, 2014
The #RedWings hit the ice for warmups here in front of a record crowd at The Big House! #WinterClassic pic.twitter.com/7BqqijCXUS
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 1, 2014
After 1 at The Big House, the #RedWings and Toronto are scoreless; shots are 13-5 in favor of Detroit #WinterClassic pic.twitter.com/4SpkeSoyhF
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 1, 2014
Last but not least, Instagram was also full of fun behind-scenes-coverage, especially before the game got underway. We’ll just let the posts below tell the story.
When sports and social media come together, good things are bound to happen. That was especially true for the 2014 Winter Classic as shown via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Maple Leafs may have won the game, but both teams ended the day as social media victors.
