NHL to host first-ever women's Winter Classic

The Boston Pride of the NWHL take on Les Canadiennes of the CWHL at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 31

The NHL will host the first-ever outdoor women's Winter Classic as the Boston Pride of the NWHL take on Les Canadiennes of the CWHL at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 31, the league announced.

“Two days with three Boston-Montreal rival match-ups is a great way to celebrate hockey,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a press release. “A new year signifies a new chapter and we look forward to sharing the ice for the first time with two professional women's teams on the League's biggest stage.”

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Fans with tickets to the 2016 NHL Winter Classic alumni game on Dec. 31 can use the same ticket to gain early entry into the stadium and watch the women's classic match at 2 p.m. ET.

The men's Winter Classic will be held on Jan. 1.

Below are the rosters for the women's Winter Classic:

Pride: Blake Bolden, Kate Buesser, Corinne Bule, Kelly Cooke, Jillian Dempsey, Shannon Doyle, Meghan Fardelmann, Emily Field, Kaleigh Fratkin, Marisssa Gedman, Cherie Hendrickson, Bray Ketchum, Denna Laing, Rachel Llanes, Meaghan Mangene, Brittany Ott, Casey Pickett, Lauren Slebodnick.

Canadiennes: Sydney Aveson, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Emmanuelle Blais, Emile Bocchia, Sophie Brault, Cathy Chartrand, Julie Chu, Katia Clement-Heydra, Kim Deschenes, Karell Emard, Carly Hill, Charline Labonte, Noemie Marin, Leslie Oles, Caroline Ouellette, Marie-Phillip Poulin, Laurlane Rougeau, Chelsey Saunders.

- Christopher Chavez