BOSTON - On a day when even the Red Sox might have found Fenway Park's muggy, sultry setting too much to bear, four collegiate mascots braved the sweltering conditions to share in what truly was a historic event for college hockey in New England.

"It's strange to be here on a hot August day talking about a cold night in January," Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna said yesterday along the first-base line at Fenway. "But before we lose some of these mascots to the heat, it's my pleasure, along with the Fenway Sports Group and Hockey East, to bring the first outdoor collegiate hockey games to New England."

Exactly one week after the Boston Bruins host the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL's annual Winter Classic game on New Year's Day, Hockey East will play a pair of games at Boston's hallowed baseball park.

The first of those games will feature the University of New Hampshire women's hockey team taking on conference rival Northeastern University at 4 p.m., followed by a nightcap clash at 7:30 between the Boston College and Boston University men's teams.

Said Bertagna of the UNH-NU matchup, "This will be the first women's NCAA ice hockey game" to be played outdoors in history.

UNH Coach Brian McCloskey, junior defenseman Courtney Sheary and senior forward Micaela Long were on hand to share in the festivities, which included a photo op on the warning track and leisurely tour of the Red Sox dugout - just one day before the Sox battle the Yankees in a crucial AL East matchup.

"This is unbelievable, I mean I've been coming here since I was a kid and I try to catch at least a couple games a year," said Long, a South Boston native. "This is the closest I've ever even been to the field though, that's for sure.

"But you know, it's great for our program, it's great for Hockey East and I'm proud to be a part of all this."

While the official announcement was saved for the mass media yesterday, the Wildcats found out about the outdoor game a little over two weeks ago.

"We were at a team barbeque at one of our coach's house and we were told they had a big surprise announcement for us," said Sheary, a native of Melrose, Mass. "It was a big guessing game and when we finally found out, we were all speechless. We had no idea what to say."

Not only was it tough to verbalize, it was even tougher to visualize. The plush green grass, groomed infield and sweltering sun made picturing a hockey rink nearly impossible. The circumference of the rink will run from foul line to foul line, with the ice surface goal lines positioned 10-15 yards behind the first- and third-base bags.

"Obviously the weather in New England is all over the place, so it could be hit or miss," Sheary said. "It could be 45 degrees or negative 5. It's hard to prepare yourself for the game, but with all the excitement I don't think it matters what the weather is going to be like. Everyone's going to be so excited it might not even faze us."

If the weather doesn't play a factor, certainly the opponent will. Northeastern finished a modest sixth out of eight teams in the Hockey East standings last year, but played the conference champion Wildcats tough in all three meetings.

"These are two of the most storied women's teams in the country with a long history of producing national team players for both the United States and Canada," McCloskey said. "We've had some great battles and we're very, very excited to be here and participate in this historic event.

"It's just such a great opportunity for the women's game," he continued. "I think it's going to be a wonderful venue to showcase just how quickly the women's game has really progressed - a special moment for sure."

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