Braden Holtby stood in a corner of the Hershey Bears’ dressing room at Giant Center on Wednesday morning answering questions from a reporter when assistant coach Troy Mann approached the goalie.

“Frenchy wants to talk to you when you’re done,” Mann said, referring to Bears head coach Mark French.

The interview ended quickly, and Holtby went into the coach’s office for less than a minute. That was all the time needed to tell him he would be starting Friday night’s American Hockey League Outdoor Classic against the Adirondack Phantoms at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

“Obviously it will be a lot of fun, a lot more fun playing than sitting and watching,” Holtby said. “I wanted the game, obviously. I’m excited to play and hopefully get two points.”

Holtby has won four of his past five starts for the East Division-leading Bears, who sit two points up on the Norfolk Admirals and three ahead of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Each team has played 33 games.

Wednesday was busy for Holtby, beginning with a morning practice at Milton Hershey School’s open-air rink, where the temperature hovered in the upper teens.

It continued with a visit to South Hanover Elementary School, part of the team’s Bears Cares reading program.

'Focus on puck will be the same'

Holtby said despite all the attention surrounding the first outdoor game in franchise history, he plans to keep things as normal as possible.

“I’m not going to try and think too much about it,” Holtby said. “I’m going to prepare like it’s any other game, and if I prepare right and get my mind in the right spot, it won’t really matter what the circumstances are. My focus on the puck will be the same and the reactions will come.”

Weather won’t be a concern, said the goalie, whose record sits at 11-7-1 despite a sluggish start to his season.

“The good thing about it is – especially as a goalie – you don’t get too warm (outside),” Holtby said. “In arenas, you have to worry about getting dehydrated. That’s one thing to our advantage.

“Even today at Milton Hershey, you felt cooler and better toward the end of practice. You weren’t losing a lot of sweat, which felt nice.”

Outdoor memories

Hershey’s other goalie, Dany Sabourin, has already experienced an outdoor hockey game on a grand scale.

Sabourin was the backup to Ty Conklin for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 1, 2008. That day, they beat the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1, in a shootout at the first NHL Winter Classic in snowy Orchard Park, N.Y.

“I really remember having fun and spending time with my family,” Sabourin said. “Every guy on the team had friends or family in town. It was a great time and you wanted to win that game, too, to make it more special.

“I remember the coach’s speech before the game, and he said something like, ‘Make sure we win, because we want to have a good feeling about this.’”

Sabourin said the Bears feel the same way.

“Everything before and after the game is fun, but it’s much more fun when you win the game,” Sabourin said, “and we’ll do our best to win Friday night.”

Gearing up for the elements

Keith Aucoin might have been the most comfortable person inside the frigid Milton Hershey School rink during practice.

Aucoin, the AHL’s scoring leader, said he prepared for the outdoor dry run by doing a little shopping the night before.

“I went to Dick’s (Sporting Goods) yesterday and got a lot of things to try out,” Aucoin said. “I got some goggles and a facemask.

“I know I was warm until my goggles started getting fogged up. I had to take them off when I couldn’t see any more. It was definitely pretty cold out there, but you get used to it after the first 10, 15 minutes.”

The forecast for Friday night in Philadelphia calls for temperatures in the mid-to-upper-30s come game time.

“I’m wearing boots and a big jacket,” French said, when asked about his wardrobe. “The benches are heated, which is nice, but I’ll certainly be wearing a pair of gloves. There won’t be a lot of writing on my bench card. Trying to stay warm will be job No. 1.”

Swinging for the fences

Aucoin, a huge Boston Red Sox fan, clearly is jazzed by the notion of playing hockey at a Major League Baseball park.

“I’m bringing a bat, a baseball, my glove, my Red Sox Carl Crawford jersey, Red Sox hat and (I’ll) be playing catch,” Aucoin said. “If they let me try to hit one out, I’m gonna. I’ll be fully prepared Friday morning.”

Notes

Bears equipment manager Justin Kullman said the team ordered two sets of special Outdoor Classic jerseys. Hershey will wear white jerseys during pregame warm-up Friday night and will switch to brown jerseys for the game against Adirondack. When the two teams play again at Giant Center Saturday night, the Bears will wear the white uniforms. The brown ones from Friday’s game will be auctioned after Saturday’s rematch, with proceeds benefiting Hershey Bears Charities. … Mann, on what the outdoor practice accomplished: “I think it added to the excitement level for Friday night. There was really good energy and the guys seemed to be pumped up to be out there.” … The Bears will practice at Giant Center Thursday morning before busing to Philadelphia. The team is scheduled to skate on the rink at Citizens Bank Park at 9 a.m. Friday.