The 2012 Winter Classic is right around the corner, with the festivities scheduled to begin on Saturday with an alumni game that precedes the main event: a regular season meeting between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

The alumni game, which will be televised on Versus at 1 p.m. on Dec. 31, pits famous alumni from both franchises.

Participating in the alumni game for the Flyers will be Jeremy Roenick, Eric Lindros, John LeClair and Mark Howe, among others, and the crew will be coached by Pat Quinn. The Rangers will be coached by Mike Keenan, who led the organization to its first championship in more than 54 years in 1993-94. Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, Ron Duguay, Dave Maloney and Mike Gartner are all expected to skate in the game.

The alumni game will foreshadow the actual game, which boasts two of the Eastern Conference's top teams.

Game Date/Time: Monday, Jan. 2, 1 p.m. ET

Location: Citizen's Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa.

TV: NBC (National), CBC (Canada)

For continued updates and analysis of both these teams, visit the Flyers blog Broad Street Hockey and the Rangers blog Blueshirt Banter.