DETROIT -- Hockeytown and The Big House will come together next winter for what is expected to be a historic holiday extravaganza of hockey culminating with the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day.

The National Hockey League announced Sunday that the long-anticipated Winter Classic matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Red Wings at Michigan Stadium on the campus of University of Michigan will take place on Jan. 1, 2014.

A world record crowd for an ice hockey game could attend the event, potentially surpassing the 104,173 people attending the game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University at Michigan Stadium in 2010.

"The history of the teams' cross-border rivalry, the nobility of The Big House and the growing tradition of the NHL Winter Classic will raise the anticipation for this event to new heights," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. "We are delighted to offer our fans a spectacle at which the energy will be unmatched and the demand for tickets will be unprecedented. For anyone involved in any way -- as a player, a coach, an official, a fan -- this NHL Winter Classic will be a truly memorable hockey moment."

The 2014 Winter Classic will be the second between division rivals -- the New York Rangers played the Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park in 2012.

http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=664575