The NHL has officially announced the 2013 Winter Classic and it should be a good one.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will face off against the Detroit Red Wings at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Stadium is the largest of its kind in North America and drew a Guinness World Record crowd of 104,173 for a 2010 NCAA hockey game. The NHL figures it can beat those numbers with this Original Six matchup.

The Winter Classic will go on January 1, 2013. Toronto’s appearance marks the first Canadian team in the Winter Classic.

“It’s Hockeytown versus the centre of the hockey universe,” Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke said.

“Even with 115,000 or more tickets available, we still won’t have enough to satisfy the demand,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

The pre-sale website crashed after just an hour following the announcement and the rivalry should bring in feverish fans to support both sides. The Leafs and Wings have tangled since 1927, playing in 117 playoff games against each other despite being in different conferences. Only Boston and Montreal have tangled more in the post season.

“We thought that we had built this event to a level where it made sense to do it, and that even from a U.S. network television standpoint, we were comfortable that it would work well,” Bettman said of the decision to stick a Canadian team in the mix for a change.

It’s expected that HBO will once again be involved with the 24/7 series highlighting both teams as they build to the big game.

There will also be other events surrounding the Winter Classic, including a Hockeytown Winter Festival at Comerica Park and some AHL matchups featuring the Toronto Marlies and the Grand Rapids Griffins. The OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, Saginaw Spirit, Plymouth Whalers and London Knights will also face off in various games.