Ann Arbor, Mich. — This Saturday, Michigan will host Michigan State in an outdoor hockey game at its football stadium before an anticipated crowd of 113,000 people. For two hours, "The Big Chill," as the event is being called, will shove college hockey into an unusual spot: the center of the national sports discussion.

To optimists, there's some evidence this game could be college hockey's apotheosis: the moment it finally muscles up to the same table as its bigger siblings, basketball and football.