[sureLoss]

http://www.tsn.ca/buffalo-awarded-20...niors-1.403558

When USA Hockey officially names Buffalo host of the 2018 World Junior Championship on Friday, an outdoor game pitting Canada against the United States at Ralph Wilson Stadium will also be announced, according to sources.

Organizers expect a sold-out crowd of more than 71,000 fans for a late December, 2017, clash between the best Under-20 players from both sides of the border, making for the largest single game crowd ever to watch a junior hockey game.

Attendance from that one game alone will be nearly half of the total tournament gate from both 2014 in Sweden (144,268) or 2013 in Russia (110,175).

The announcement will be made Friday at the 18-yard line of Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Bills. The NFL’s Bills and NHL’s Sabres are both owned by Terry Pegula. Ralph Wilson Stadium was site of the NHL’s first Winter Classic in 2008.

USA Hockey will announce the outdoor game’s components as “likely” the United States against Canada, only because the tournament’s pool and schedule has not yet been officially determined.