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Detroit Red Wings hit the ice under the lights at Ohio Stadium: ‘It was awesome’

Published

1 year ago

February 28, 2025

Press Room

Detroit Red Wings hit the ice under the lights at Ohio Stadium: ‘It was awesome’

The Detroit Red Wings are preparing to face the Columbus Blue Jackets in an outdoor game at Ohio Stadium.
The game is especially important for the Red Wings, as they are currently tied with the Blue Jackets in the NHL standings.
Players are excited about the unique atmosphere of playing in an outdoor stadium, though some are anticipating challenges posed by the wind and cold.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dusk had fallen by the time the Detroit Red Wings took to the rink laid out inside the horseshoe that is Ohio Stadium, the ice gleaming in the fading sunlight.

“It was awesome,” Lucas Raymond said. “Just looking up, seeing the big stadium and all the seats — it’s going to be great.”

From above, the rink looked like an island, with wide spaces separating it from the stands that by the time Saturday’s game starts around 6:30 p.m. are expected to number around 90,000 spectators. The game took on a redemption angle for the Wings after their flat performance Thursday at home against the Blue Jackets, a team the Wings are neck-and-neck with in the NHL standings.

“That’s a great challenge for us to show up as a team and get right back in a spot where we want to be,” Moritz Seider said, “and get two crucial points against a team that’s tied with us right now.”

Friday evening’s practice — the Wings took the ice around 6:30 p.m. — served as a rehearsal, topped by a family skate that left everyone in a good mood. Take it from Dylan Larkin, former Michigan Wolverine, who described the scene on the ice.

“It was great,” he said. “There’s a lot of excitement with the guys. Pretty cool to just do something different. It’s probably the ugliest stadium I’ve ever been in, but it’s cool to play hockey outside. It’s always special to have the family skate out there, so it was really special.”

Goaltender Cam Talbot, who is slated to start, joked, “hopefully the wind works in my favor and slows the shots down a little bit, but I think that’s just wishful thinking.”

It was windy, and it’s supposed to be gusty from the north again Saturday evening.

“I’m sure the ice will be a little better with it being colder,” Patrick Kane said. “Tonight I noticed skating into the wind, and then the other way you have it at your back. I think that’s something that could come into play, where maybe they switch the teams and switch the sides with 10 minutes left in the period. We’ll see how it shakes out.”

Seider said the ice “felt great. Ice was really good, I thought, and we had good speed. It feels a little special because there’s nothing coming back — it’s a very hollow feeling overall.”

While Seider and Raymond are among those new to the experience, Talbot and Kane are at the other end, having played in at least seven each. That should be an advantage Saturday.

“For the players who have played in these, and I asked Patrick Kane — he has a pretty good idea of what to expect as far as conditions, starting with ice, boards, spatial awareness,” coach Todd McLellan said. “It doesn’t feel the same. The crowd is further away. For those who have played in them, it’ll come back quicker. For the new ones — I jumped on the ice with Alex Lyon and he was like a kid in a candy shop. ‘So cool,’ I think he said, ‘this is so cool.’ So some of the players were in awe a little bit. But once the puck drops, it’s hockey, just in a different environment.”

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.

Her latest book, “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of the Red Wings,” was released October 2024. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

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Ohio

Is another team ready to take over the top of the Big Ten from Indiana and Ohio State?

Published

2 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Is another team ready to take over the top of the Big Ten from Indiana and Ohio State?

After years of unchecked dominance from the SEC, the Big Ten Conference cemented its place as the best in college football in the 2025-2026 season.

The Indiana Hoosiers completed a remarkable 16-0 season by winning a National Championship, beating Ohio State in the conference championship game, dominating Alabama in the Rose Bowl, then blowing out Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

That completed a Big Ten trifecta, with the Michigan Wolverines winning a championship in 2024, then the Buckeyes following it up by beating Notre Dame to win the title in 2025. While the SEC might have better depth overall, it’s no question that the top of the Big Ten is as good or better than anyone.

SEC, BIG TEN ARE DOMINATING COLLEGE FOOTBALL THANKS TO MASSIVE ADVANTAGES OVER OTHER CONFERENCES

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti after defeating the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Jan. 19, 2026. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

And a new program might be ready to take their turn at the top of the Big Ten: those same Oregon Ducks.

One of the most predictive measures of a team’s strength from year to year is how much production they return from the previous season. It makes sense; the more key players that stay with the team, the better it is for continuity and development.

The Big Ten, oddly enough, has several teams that return much of their production on both sides of the ball. ESPN’s Bill Connelly ran the numbers, finding that teams like Maryland, Nebraska, Minnesota and UCLA all ranked in the top 10 nationally in returning value. Though given how these teams played in 2025, that’s less important. Number 12, though? The Oregon Ducks.

And that carryover production is coming from a team that lost just two games all season, both to Indiana. They handled a very good USC team, 42-27, overcame miserable conditions to outlast the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road, beat the rival Washington Huskies, and most impressively, shut out an elite Texas Tech team 23-0 in the College Football Playoff. And they bring back the players responsible for 66% of their overall production, including star quarterback Dante Moore.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) warms up prior to the 2025 Orange Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)

Just behind them at 65%? USC, heading into a pivotal season under Lincoln Riley.

Here’s where Oregon has the advantage, however. They bring that percentage back from a team that was significantly better than USC. It’s no surprise then, that per Connelly’s SP+ projections, Oregon is expected to be the No. 2 team in the country, by efficiency on offense, defense and special teams.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A BIG 12 WINNER NOT NAMED TEXAS TECH OR BYU, CONSIDER THE HOUSTON COUGARS

What about the other Big Ten schools, though?

USC is the biggest wildcard. They sit at No. 13 in the SP+ projections, thanks to an elite offense and a defense that’s expected to be solid, if unspectacular. But their special teams projections are all the way down at No. 100 in the country, thanks to a series of disastrous mistakes in 2025. Special teams, though, should be the easiest area to improve upon. So if the Trojans can make some adjustments, they could exceed the eight game win expectancy.

Ohio State and Indiana, the two most recent champions, have a bit of a tougher hill to climb, though their roster composition is far from disastrous. The Buckeyes bring back 60% of their production, while Indiana is at 56%, even with several huge departures. That ranks at No. 31 and No. 52, respectively. Important, but not enough to push either team out of the top 5 in the national projections. And Ohio State sits at No. 1, thanks to consistently elite recruiting and key players like Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith returning.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning attends Oregon Pro Day on March 17, 2026, at the Moshofsky Center in Eugene, Oregon. (Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

But if there is an upset brewing at the top of the conference, Oregon might be the place to look. The question then becomes, can they put it all together against a difficult schedule? The Ducks play USC on the road, host Nebraska, travel to Illinois, play Ohio State on the road, host Michigan and have their rivalry game against Washington at Autzen.

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It won’t be easy, but don’t be surprised if at the end of the season, Dan Lanning and the Ducks are right back in the mix.

Ian Miller is a writer at OutKick.

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Woman missing for more than 2 weeks found dead in Ohio

Published

12 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Woman missing for more than 2 weeks found dead in Ohio

July 8, 2026 / 7:40 PM EDT
/ CBS Pittsburgh

A Kentucky woman who had been missing for more than two weeks was found dead in her vehicle in Ohio, authorities said.

The body of Debra Wireman was found in her vehicle on July 3 in Clermont County, Ohio, the Flemingsburg Police Department in Kentucky said on Facebook on Wednesday. Investigators were called to the scene after a report identifying the vehicle as belonging to a missing person, police said. The remains were identified as Wireman’s by the Clermont County Coroner’s Office on July 7, according to law enforcement.

Debra Wireman, a Kentucky woman who had been missing for more than two weeks, was found dead in her vehicle in Ohio.

(Photo Credit: Flemingsburg Police Department)

Police in Kentucky said the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio is investigating the woman’s death. No additional information will be released by Flemingsburg police “out of respect for Debra’s family and the integrity of that investigation.”

“While this is not the outcome any of us hoped and prayed for, we are thankful that Debra has been found and that her family can now begin to receive the closure they deserve,” police added on Facebook.

Wireman, according to police, was last seen on June 17 at around 4:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, Ohio, while traveling toward Maysville, Kentucky. She was driving a white 2020 Kia Forte with front-end damage. Police said family and friends were “concerned for her welfare.”

“The overwhelming response from our community, neighboring agencies, the media, and countless individuals across the region demonstrated the very best of people coming together in the hope of bringing someone home safely,” Flemingsburg police said.

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