For the second consecutive year, Toronto’s BMO Field is hosting MLS Cup. (Dan Hamilton/USA Today Sports)

MLS Cup: Seattle Sounders at Toronto FC

Where: BMO Field

When: 4:30 p.m. Eastern

TV: ESPN, UniMas, Univision Deportes.

Live streams: WatchESPN, ESPN3, univisiondeportes.com

*****

TORONTO — This is a hockey city, a hockey country, but for the past two Decembers, the hum of the NHL season and fabled junior leagues has been interrupted by a soccer championship playing out on the frigid shores of Lake Ontario.

On a day better suited for the Winter Classic — those popular outdoor hockey events that have rekindled memories of yesteryear — some 30,000 crammed into BMO Field for MLS Cup on Saturday afternoon. It was a rematch of the final won by the Seattle Sounders on these same chilly grounds a year ago, and with Toronto FC on pace to make league history, the buzz around town swelled this week.

For the comforts of the players and fans, there are far better places (re: warmer) to stage MLS’s marquee match. But to reward the more successful finalist in the regular season and to enhance the setting with a rabid and partisan audience, the league in 2012 abandoned the predetermined (and almost always neutral) venue for a true home team.

That, however, leaves the risk of chilly weather. Early in the week, snow was in the forecast here. As game day approached, the snow held off and gray skies and cold — but not unbearable — temperatures descended on the stadium near downtown.

The streets around the venue crackled with energy as ultra-layered supporters arrived via train, car and foot. Several hundred came from Seattle, where the Sounders have enjoyed the largest sustained fan base in the league. The club was seeking to become the fourth team to win consecutive titles, joining D.C. United (1996-97), Houston Dynamo (2006-07) and Los Angeles Galaxy (2011-12).

Toronto was eyeing the “Treble” — three trophies in one year. It had already won the Supporters’ Shield (most regular season points) and domestic cup (Canadian Championship). Many MLS teams have won the “Double,” but no one has bolstered its trophy cabinet with three.

The match provided an opportunity for several players from the failed U.S. World Cup qualifying effort to gain a bit of redemption: Seattle’s Clint Dempsey, and Toronto’s Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore.

Toronto has been MLS’s best team from the dawn of the season in March, and by playing at home, it had the advantage. Greg Vanney’s team, however, labored at BMO Field in each of the past two rounds. Meantime, Seattle has been in good form in the postseason and buoyed by its championship in these parts a year ago.

More soccer coverage:

MLS Cup won’t fill void of World Cup. But for three leaders of U.S. soccer, it would be a start.

There’s hope for Baltimore and other smaller markets to host 2026 World Cup matches

Hope Solo wants to be president of the U.S. Soccer Federation

France needs an opponent for World Cup tuneup. Les Bleus will play USA.

Peru soccer captain tests positive for cocaine, will miss the World Cup