Canada-U.S. junior teams taking it outside in 2017

Canada will play the the U.S. outdoors at Buffalo's New Era Stadium, home of the NFL's Bills, at the 2018 world junior hockey championships.

USA Hockey Executive Director Dave Ogrean announced Friday that the U.S. would play its top rival Dec. 29, 2017, in the first outdoor game to take place at an International Ice Hockey Federation event.

The U.S.-Canada matchup will be the feature game of the preliminary round. The other games at the tournament will take place at KeyBank Center, home of the NHL's Sabres, and the nearby HarborCenter rink.

"The U.S.-Canada rivalry is as good as it gets in sport, and to have an outdoor game between the two countries as part of the World Juniors in hockey-rich Western New York will be spectacular," Ogrean said.