SAN JOSE, Calif — The Bruins and Blackhawks are headed to the great outdoors.
The NHL announced Saturday afternoon, during the second quarter of the Notre Dame-Navy football game, that the Bruins and Hawks will stage an outdoor Winter Classic at the Irish’s 81,000-seat football stadium Jan. 1, 2019.
The outdoor game, which counts as part of each club’s 82-game regular-season schedule, will be the third Winter Classic for the Bruins and fourth for the Blackhawks.
“It’s always very exciting and it’s going to be no different again next year,’’ said Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, who has played in Boston’s two prior Winter Classics.
While acknowledging he has seen the ND-based movie “Rudy,’’ the Quebec City-born Bergeron made clear he doesn’t have a deep connection to the school or its sprawling historic campus in South Bend, Ind.
“I know there’s a lot of history behind that school and that program,’’ he said, prior to the Bruins taking on the Sharks here in the evening. “It’s going to be special, for sure, and I’m looking forward to taking it all in once we’re there.’’
The Winter Classic, has been a huge moneymaker since its debut in Orchard Park, N.Y., in 2008 (Penguins 2, Sabres 1 in a shootout). In 2010, it landed at Fenway Park, where the Bruins trimmed the Flyers in OT, 2-1, in front of 38,112 in the emerald bandbox.
The Winter Classic returned to New England in 2016, with the Canadiens thumping the Bruins, 5-1, in front of 67,246 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
“It’s going to be an experience, something fun,’’ said Bergeron. “You have to make sure you don’t get too high or too low, and just worry abut the game — because there are a lot of distractions around the game itself. But a great event and something I’m looking forward to.’’
The Hawks played in Winter Classics in 2009, 2015, and 2017. Their first one, a 6-4 loss to the Red Wings, was played at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Notre Dame Stadium, which opened in 1930, has an official seating capacity of 80,795 for football, a figure that should remain the same for hockey.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont @globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.
