ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Fighting heavy wind and blowing snow, NHL work crews completed the initial phase of converting Ralph Wilson Stadium into a hockey rink for next week's Winter Classic outdoor game.

"The process of building the ice has begun," NHL spokesman Jamey Horan said Monday. Crews spent the past 24 hours surveying and protecting the field, unloading equipment and establishing refrigeration lines in preparation for the Buffalo Sabres' game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on New Year's Day.

The game will be the NHL's second played outdoors, and first in the United States after the Oilers played the Montreal Canadiens at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium on Nov. 22, 2003.

The field's conversion began within hours of the final whistle of the Buffalo Bills' home finale, a 38-21 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.

Crews began by removing the goal posts, and laying large tarps, held down by wooden boards, to protect the field. The initial work was completed despite wind gusts of over 30 mph and a steady and sometimes blinding snowfall.

The wind posed a near-dangerous problem on Sunday night.

With workers standing nearby, a heavy gust picked up one of the tarps — 30 yards long and covering the width of the football field — and lifted it into the stands of the east end zone. Several workers managed to duck beneath the tarp in time, and nobody was injured.

Numerous all-terrain vehicles and golf carts, as well as one SUV, were driven out on to the field to provide additional weight to hold down the tarps.

Organizers, who plan to work round the clock, hope to have the rink built by Wednesday and begin making the ice a day later. The two teams are scheduled to practice at the stadium next Monday afternoon.

The game has been sold out since September.