Monday afternoon at the 1st Mariner Arena the Washington Capitals announced a preseason exhibition game against the Nashville Predators set for September 20 in Baltimore.

Capitals General Manager George McPhee underscored how popular hockey has become in Charm City and cited an article in the Washington Post that highlighted this phenomenon. McPhee said he hopes this is the first of many games to come in Baltimore.

Tickets for the Baltimore Hockey Classic are set to go on sale Saturday at 10 AM on the Capitals official website.

More pictures from the event after the bump. Also check out our video interview with George McPhee later on BSR.