Photo: NHL

This year’s NHL Winter Classic held at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, drew a 1.94 overnight rating for NBC, making it the highest rated Winter Classic since 2014, which drew a 2.5 rating, the best it’s ever drawn. This year’s rating was a fraction better than the ratings for the Capitals-Blackhawks Winter Classic in 2015. Our recap of this year’s Winter Classic is here.

2019 NHL Winter Classic overnight of 1.94 for @NHLBruins & @NHLBlackhawks is up +17% from last year’s Winter Classic with NY Rangers/Buffalo (1.88).

— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) January 2, 2019

Last year’s Winter Classic ratings reached an all-time low (more here). The top markets for the 2019 Winter Classic were no surprise as well.

This year’s Winter Classic ratings stemmed a steep, downward trend in recent years.

The NHL announced yesterday that next year’s Winter Classic will be held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, and include the Dallas Stars.

The highest rated hockey game in the last 40-years was Game 7 between Boston and Vancouver, which drew a 4.8.

The official attendance for yesterday’s Winter Classic was 76,126.

By Jon Sorensen