Lawrenceville School Ice Hockey Team to Play at Citizens Bank Park

Editor's Note: The following is a news release that was issued by .

The Lawrenceville School boys' ice hockey team, which boasts a winning tradition dating back to 1896, will return to its outdoor roots when Big Red takes on arch-rival Hill School at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Jan. 4, 2012 at 1 p.m.

The match will be part of the 2012 Bridgestone National Hockey League (NHL) Winter Classic festivities (featuring a game between the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 2 at 1 p.m.).

Free tickets for Lawrenceville vs. Hill, located in the Hall of Fame Club Level, can be obtained by visiting www.lawrenceville.org. Complimentary parking will be available in the Citizens Bank Park Lot P, located at the corner of Darien Street and Pattison Avenue. Fans should enter the park through the First Base Gate. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis.

Lawrenceville currently holds a 67-59-11 advantage in the all-time series between the schools.

"We very much appreciate the Hill School inviting Lawrenceville to be a part of this exciting opportunity to showcase high school ice hockey," said Lawrenceville School Athletic Director John Simar.

Since their first meeting in 1942, Lawrenceville and Hill have maintained a fierce rivalry that has brought out the best in student-athletes on both sides and exemplified the goals of interscholastic athletics.

Both schools have long competed with the strongest scholastic ice hockey programs in North America, with annual schedules against the top programs in New England, Canada, and the Mid-Atlantic region. Since the end of the Second World War, no programs in the Mid-Atlantic region have competed at a consistently high level and placed more alumni in NCAA ice hockey as have Lawrenceville and Hill.

The NHL introduced the annual Winter Classic in 2008 as an event that showcases the sport played as it was when it was invented: outside. The festivities have grown in the years since, and now include several pre- and post-game matches between prep school and college programs.

"Given that our program began on the School Pond, competing on the outdoor ice at Citizens Bank Park as part of the Winter Classic in 2012 marks a return to our program's roots," said Etienne Bilodeau, head coach of Lawrenceville's boys' ice hockey team.

"Considering that the Hill School is our fiercest rival, that so many of the games between the schools were played in open-air settings, and that both schools have long competed at the highest levels of prep school ice hockey, it is appropriate we will meet on a stage of this magnitude."