Similar to the way the Winter Classic is close to becoming the marquee event of the NHL's regular-season calendar, the district high school hockey's outdoor showcase also might be upstaging the Penguins Cup playoffs and championship.

Considering that the proceeds go to a good cause, that wouldn't be the worst thing to happen.

The first of five games in the PIHL's UPMC Outdoor Charity Series will be at 7 p.m. Monday when Pine-Richland plays North Allegheny at the North Park ice rink.

Doubleheaders at North Park a week from today and at South Park (Feb. 5) will follow. All five games will benefit charities.

"It's almost as if there's more publicity for these games than for the playoffs," Bethel Park coach Jim McVay said. "People really look forward to this. It's great for the kids and it's great for the causes it helps."

The Monday game's primary beneficiary will be the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, as will the first game at 6:30 p.m. next Friday, when reigning Class A champion Mars Area faces Quaker Valley. The second game that evening between defending Class AAA champion Shaler Area and Central Catholic will benefit the Paul J. Sciullo Scholarship Fund.

Sciullo, a Central Catholic alumnus and former hockey player for the Vikings, was one of three Pittsburgh police officers killed while answering a domestic disturbance call last spring.

Proceeds from the games starting at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at South Park (Thomas Jefferson/Montour followed by Bethel Park/Canon-McMillan) will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

So, young hockey players will take part in something they'll always remember, high school hockey gets some extra publicity, fans of hockey and the participating schools get to have an unusual experience and charitable causes benefit.

What's not to like?

"It's a win-win situation for everybody," PIHL commissioner Ed Sam said. "And it's in big part due to the support we get from UPMC and, especially, the Pittsburgh Penguins. I can't emphasize that enough."

"It's great for us to support an event like this," Penguins president David Morehouse said. "Not only because it promotes high school hockey, but it gives these kids a chance to play the game as we take it back to its roots like the Winter Classic has for the NHL players."

McVay attended this season's Winter Classic at Boston's Fenway Park and also two years ago at Ralph Wilson Stadium between the Buffalo Sabres and Penguins.

It was while driving back from that game that he got the idea for a high school version of the event. Bethel Park played rival Mt. Lebanon in the first PIHL outdoor game, won by Mt. Lebanon, 2-0, on Feb. 28, 2008.

The concept has grown from one game to three last year to five this season.

As two of the school districts that abut North Park, Pine-Richland and North Allegheny played in the inaugural North Park version.

Bethel Park is the only school to play in the event all three years. Black Hawks senior captain Aaron Placke is one of only a couple players who will participate in his third such game.

"Absolutely, these are fun," Placke said. "The fans are great. It's just a great experience overall. I think it's a great idea for high school hockey, and I love the fact it's for a good cause."

While pickup games on frozen ponds are as old as the game itself, there are some inherent challenges in staging an official, counts-in-the-standings varsity-level high school hockey game.

First, of course, is that the game is at the mercy of the elements. While the NHL has been extraordinarily lucky with its Winter Classics so far, poor weather -- either rain or bitter cold -- plagued last season's PIHL games.

"Our dream is 30 degrees with a little snow," Sam said.

While playing at a new rink foreign to the players usually takes some getting used to, most have never had to play in a rink as different to them as this.

The outdoors aspect of it alone causes issues -- the background scenery sometimes makes visibility challenging, and the ice might be choppier -- but the rinks themselves differ from the ones where teams usually play.

The South Park and North Park rinks are bigger than standard North American hockey size (the one in South Park has Olympic dimensions, while the North Park rink is even wider). Also, the North Park rink doesn't have protective glass above the boards; instead there is chain-link fencing, meaning the puck doesn't carry the same way when thrown off it.

"There are some things that make it completely different being outdoors," Pine-Richland coach Matthew Richert said. "It's an adjustment, but it's an adjustment for both teams."

The coaches involved believe the potential drawbacks are more than outweighed by the positives of the experience.

"It's something different anyway, and anytime you can change things up and try something new, it's fun," said Central Catholic coach Bob Kennedy.

• What: PIHL's UPMC outdoor charity series.

• Day 1: Pine-Richland vs. North Allegheny at North Park, 7 p.m. Monday.

• Day 2: Mars vs. Quaker Valley at North Park, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 29. Shaler vs. Central Catholic will immediately follow.

• Day 3: Thomas Jefferson vs. Montour at South Park, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 5. Bethel Park vs. Canon-McMillan will immediately follow.

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.