Growing up in Milton, Ontario, Hershey Bears coach Mark French loved playing hockey outside.

“I had an outdoor rink from probably when I was 4 until at least 12 or 13,” French said. “My dad would make one every year.

“And we played on ponds, too. That was a huge part of the holidays for us. We had a little bit colder weather than we do around here, so we had more time to skate outside.”

French said his childhood memories of playing outside only add to the anticipation for the Outdoor Classic on Jan. 6, when Hershey plays the Adirondack Phantoms at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

In preparation for the event, French said the Bears will practice once or twice next week on the outdoor rink at Milton Hershey School.

“Some of it will be to get used to the elements,” French said of the Bears’ outdoor practice. “Some guys are toying with using different long underwear and things of that nature.

“It’s probably a good chance to experiment with that stuff before we have to go outdoors and play.”

Stay-over in Philadelphia

Hershey president and general manager Doug Yingst said the team is approaching the Outdoor Classic as if it were being played in Glens Falls, N.Y., home of the Phantoms.

“We’ll be busing (to Philadelphia) on Thursday night and staying over at a hotel,” Yingst said. “Then we’ll have our morning skate at the stadium around 9 o’clock to get used to it.”

French said he expects there will need to be an adjustment period for his players.

“It’s key to get in there and find out what it’s going to be like,” French said. “In the NHL’s Winter Classic, you see the teams practicing there the day before as well and then again in the morning.

“We’ll get to skate there the morning of the game. We need to experience the ice conditions, the elements. Even the whole aura and surroundings will be something to take in.”

French said the majority of Hershey’s Canadian-born players spent a great deal of time skating outside as children.

“I would think the guys from out west especially would have had backyard rinks and ponds they played on all the time,” French said. “As you see basketball courts in the States in playgrounds, there are a lot of outdoor hockey rinks in playgrounds in Canada.”