Winter Classic at Wrigley evokes memories of 1st outdoor game at Cubs’ home

CHICAGO -- When the NHL decided the 2009 Discover Winter Classic would be held at Wrigley Field, the iconic home of the Chicago Cubs, it was a new twist on a still new idea.

This was the second Winter Classic. The inaugural game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium (now Highmark Stadium), home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, on Jan. 1, 2008, was a great success.

Now the NHL was trying to play a regular-season game at a baseball stadium for the first time, pitting Original Six rivals the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings against each other. It was the first outdoor game in which the League used its own newly purchased refrigeration equipment. And after working with outside contractors in Buffalo, Dan Craig, who retired Oct. 31, 2021, as NHL vice president of facilities operation, selected his own crew to work this one.

“When we decided that we were going to get our own equipment and do our own crew, that’s when the stress started. Basically, the discussion was, I personally wasn’t going to rely on outside contractors. If the NHL is going to do this, we’re going to do it with our own equipment and our own crew, which means the responsibility is put 100 percent on hockey operations’ shoulders, and that’s the way it’s going to be,” Craig said. “A couple of them (crew members) knew each other but had never worked together. So, brand new system, brand new crew. Yeah (laughs).”

It was a challenge, but another outdoor success.

Times and crews have changed and the League is looking to make more magic at Wrigley for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues on Dec. 31 (5 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS). But memories of the preparation, the atmosphere and game from 2009 remain for all involved.

“When I was a kid and watching the (St. Louis) Cardinals and Cubs, (New York) Yankees and (Los Angeles) Dodgers with my dad, (then) being at Wrigley field, an iconic field from my childhood was really something I was looking forward to and was really excited about,” said Paul MacLean, assistant coach for the Red Wings at the time.

Former Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp said there was, “definitely a different vibe that day at practice and even game day.”

“It was an NHL game, it was against our rival the Red Wings, but it was more a fun experience than anything,” he said. “We definitely wanted to win, wanted to represent Chicago and turn the corner. But it was more just a great day as a group and pretty proud to be a part of it.”

Here is an oral history of the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field told by the people who were there (listed by their positions at the time) and made it happen:

First thoughts

John Collins, chief operating officer, NHL: “After the success in Buffalo, we struggled a little bit to find the right market and the right stadium and right host team and visiting team and it worked out great and had a great event. I do remember having lunch with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and (former Blackhawks president John) McDonough who came in and obviously had just come over from the Chicago Cubs and he said, ‘We’d like to throw a hat in the ring for hosting a game and what would you guys think about Wrigley?’”

Crane Kenney, Cubs chairman: “The big issue then was could Wrigley Field host a winter event? The last time that happened was the Bears final (NFL) game in 1970. Would the concessions, restrooms and suites work? Could we run power into the refrigeration equipment to support the ice with our antiquated electrical grid? Could we make the concourses and ramps safe for our guests? How to bring the game to life without videoboards?”

Eddie Olczyk, NBC and Blackhawks color analyst: “I remember when (NBC executive producer and president of production) Sam Flood said, ‘What you think about Wrigley?’ I was like, ‘Oh man, let’s go. Who do I have to call?’ I get a home game selfishly and I’ll go to a park I love. Obviously, it was on the table and the drawing board. I just thought it would be awesome.”

Thomas Meaney, events coordinator, NHL: “We were excited, moving onto a new market like Chicago. Just being in Wrigley Field in general, there was a lot of excitement but also taking everything in and learning. It was all educational for a lot of us at the time.”

Collins: “We were always talking about building a national scale and creating almost a hockey holiday or a hockey Super Bowl. In Year 2, being able to do that in a major city like Chicago and to experience just how big that game was in Chicago with the Blackhawks and at Wrigley Field, I think it definitely took the Winter Classic to the next level.”

The build

Craig: “Once we got ourselves onto the field, the way the diagram was laid out had us, I think center ice was at second base. And once we start setting stuff up, we said, ‘Well, that doesn’t work.’ So, the decision was made to move it inside (the infield), so center ice was basically at the pitching mound. That was fine, but we had surveyed the field to be at the original spot. Not being in a baseball field before and not having dealt with anything on a baseball field, it was kind of left off the information chain that there was a slight elevation change from the third-base line to the retaining wall. When you put something that’s supposed to be level and then you don’t find out until you start putting water down that, oh, we’re going to have 4-5 inches of ice over here compared to an inch of ice in the middle. Those were the challenges right out of the gate.”

Collins: “They drained the pipes and shut the building down, so there was a lot of that work that had to get done.”

Dean Matsuzaki, executive vice president, NHL Events: “I do recall all the temporary heat that was brought in to keep things running and taps were running throughout the build process just to make sure lines weren’t freezing and washrooms were working.

“We had to bring in temporary video boards (Wrigley didn’t have them in 2009), and that was a lot of work because of the relationship between the Cubs and the rooftops at the time. It’s a little different now but we had to make sure we were preserving sight lines from rooftops while still getting the video boards up. I remember the day they were going up, everybody was out on the rooftops checking to make sure they still (could see). They were saying, ‘I’m having so many people here I need to make sure I’ve got my view!’

“One of the (nearby tenants) put up a web cam during our build. We’d kind of wave every day to the camera.”

Some sunny days during the build meant crews had to work more at night.

Mike Craig, NHL ice crew: “Really, it’s a lot of the ice building, especially once all of the lines and logos are in. When it’s sunny, it has a negative impact on the ice itself, so it’s best to do a lot of that kind of work in the evening. So really, it’s a lot of preparation outside of the rink and getting everything ready for our game-day operation. But once the sun goes down behind the field and gone for the night, you’re really able to get back out there and work on the ice sheet itself.”

Dan Craig: “We didn’t have the tarps until 2011. So, if the sun came out, it may have been 20 degrees but the sunshine on a surface and bounce it against those white boards, it’s not freezing temperatures out there anymore. So at that point you dealt with it. As soon as the sun went down, everybody came back to work and that’s what we did, back and forth, back and forth.”

Mike Craig: “When you have days like that, you do what you can as far as preparation in and around the rink, but really a lot of ice building and some of the work that occurred at nighttime means you’re working morning until midnight at least and then right back at it again.”

Dan Craig: “It’s Mother Nature coming off that lake (Michigan). She decides when you’re going work and when you’re not going to work and most of the time, she decided you’re going to work all through the night.”

Sharp: “I think it was not until the week before that they actually had the setup in place that we were able to see visuals on (the rink).”

The crews broke to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at their respective homes before returning Dec. 26. During their absence, snow and sleet hit Chicago.

Matsuzaki: “We were dealing with snow, and we had a number of people who had flight issues and things coming back in.”

Meaney: “It was my only time ever in Dayton, Ohio. I was diverted to there (Dec. 26), but I made it here safely.”

Matsuzaki: “We worked with a group from Soldier Field. They came in and helped with the snow removal plan. We actually rented a melting machine that was on the corner of Sheffield and Waveland. Once you get snow out of the seats and out of the field, we’re in the middle of a neighborhood. Where does it go? In Buffalo, you could take it out and dump it in the middle of a parking lot because there was nothing but parking around the building.”

Dan Craig: “We ended up with 2½ inches of just ugly, ugly ice, so we had to deal with that when we came back. We tried to find as much hot water as we could. It’s almost you’re giving the ice a drink because it’s so porous, it doesn’t hold together well. So, you just get as much hot water and when you’re in a stadium like that, that’s shut down for the winter, it’s tough to find hoses. We’re not talking ½-inch hoses, either. We’re talking 1-inch, 2-inch hoses that has hot water that you can get in 500 gallons at a time. Put it down there, let it seep through all the air pockets and let it freeze up. It’s just slow and tedious.”

Mike Craig: “It created a mess for us. But we were able to battle through that and adjust and obviously get things ready for the game.”

Temperatures fluctuated. According to extremeweatherwatch.com, Chicago had a high of eight degrees Fahrenheit on Dec. 22. On Dec. 27, it was 62.

Matsuzaki: “That did affect us on the field and with the rink a little bit, just with the ground being frozen and then softening and warming, it gets a little mushy in the grass in spots.

“On Dec. 30 they got the ice crew out there to make sure things are good and doing what they call cracking the ice and getting the resurface machines (Zambonis) on.”

Mike Craig: “Obviously we’re trying to get everything ready and plan for every single thing that we can, making sure all of our equipment is ready to go for the game. But at moments, it’s making sure you’re able to take a deep breath and look around and really enjoy that event and the environment you’re in because it is a pretty special time and something great to be a part of.”

The runup

The Red Wings were the defending Stanley Cup champions and were 24-7-5 entering the 2009 Winter Classic. The Blackhawks were the up-and-coming team, 20-7-7 and sitting six points behind the Red Wings for first place in the Central Division.

Kris Draper, Red Wings forward: “Something that was special for us, because he meant so much to us, was obviously (defenseman) Chris Chelios coming back to Chicago and playing at Wrigley Field in a Red Wing uniform. I think it was something that meant a lot to all of us.”

Patrick Kane, Blackhawks forward: “We were being built up as a team, we were getting better and the attention on the organization was getting more and more. It seemed to validate everything that was coming our way. We loved that stuff, especially at that age. We were all young and trying to make a name for ourselves and as a team.”

The day before the game, Dec. 31, players and staff got on the ice for practice and then a family skate.

Chelios: “It was awesome. We got to bring our kids out there. My sons are old enough to understand it by then.

Dan Cleary, Red Wings forward: “Having practice there, it was a beautiful day. Just walking around Wrigley, I had never been in there, being in the depths of Wrigley. Those old-school stadiums, stairs and everything, it was real fun.”

Troy Murray, Blackhawks radio color analyst: “I mean people use the word surreal so many times and everything, but it was so unique to be out there. Being on the field -- I’d never been on the field at Wrigley before -- so just to be down there, now you’re looking up at everything and the surrounding area. It was really cool, and my family was able to come, which is great.”

Denis Savard, Blackhawks ambassador: “It was amazing, especially the way it was set up, right on the plate. And you got to see pretty good, especially with how Wrigley is made.”

Sharp: “Probably the time that was most exciting was walking in for the practice the day before the game with our teammates and eventually the family jumped on the ice to see the setting. I’ve been to Wrigley a bunch for a Cubs game or maybe a concert, but nothing like what we experienced the next day.”

Gameday

John Torchetti, Blackhawks assistant coach: “It started in the morning. I lived in Wrigleyville off Damen. Me and (assistant coach) Mike Haviland lived together in a townhome. I lived in the basement, and he was on the next floor. I think it was 7 in the morning and I’m seeing this wagon go by with a keg of beer. I was like, ‘Wow, these people are starting early. This is heavy duty.’”

Jim Cornelison, Blackhawks national anthem singer: “I think I had to be there at 9:30 a.m. and the place was already really hopping. Every once in a while, these chants would randomly break out: ‘Let’s go Red Wings’ and ‘Detroit (stinks).’ It was such a cooperative, symbiotic affair, I thought, ‘Do these teams really hate each other or is it more like a love affair/rivalry (laughs)?’ It was just such a cool energy, and that kind of thing just happened randomly at different times for the next five hours or something.”

Ken Kal, Red Wings radio play by play: “The bus ride normally when you go to the game is pretty quiet because they’re thinking about the game. But everybody was upbeat. It was hard to believe you were playing for points because it was almost like an exhibition. People were just excited about playing in it. I remember looking out from inside the stadium and the fans were out there around the neighborhood tailgating, just having a great time.”

Kane: “I was like, ‘What are you going to do differently for this game to stay warm?’ You really didn’t need to do anything different, but we had the face paint on, neck covers, things like that. It was fun going through the whole process. They had a football equipment manager in there giving us ideas on how to stay warm. He worked for the Packers (Gordon “Red” Batty), and he was giving us ideas on how to stay warm.”

Brian Campbell, Blackhawks defenseman: “It was nice for me, being in my second one (he played for Buffalo in the 2008 Winter Classic) that I was used to what it felt like being out on the ice a little bit. I remember guys dressing really warm for that game and you don’t really need too many more layers.”

Cleary: “You’re anticipating the cold but it’s so warm. If you don’t play a lot, you’re probably too warm because the bench is so warm as they pump that heat in. But it was chilly in warmup, no helmet, just toques on.”

Sharp: “I didn’t know too many baseball players at the time. (Pitcher) Ryan Dempster played for the Cubs and he was hanging around the locker room a little bit. We definitely got excited with the eye black.”

Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs pitcher: “I gave suggestions (for the eye black). Standard eye black, though. You’re on a baseball field, not a football field, so you’re not going to start doing (it) like some of the [defensive] linemen wear. You have to stick traditional with the eye black straight across.”

Sharp: “A lot of the guys were putting their area codes of where they grew up (in the eye black). I put 807 for Thunder Bay, Ontario (Sharp’s hometown) on my eye black. That was the first time I ever wore something like that.”

The teams came out of their respective clubhouses for warmups.

Sharp: “It was a long walk, I remember that. We all had the skate guards on for that reason and our training staff did a good job of pulling us in the right direction. There were fireworks, there were all kinds of pregame festivities going on. There was a lot to take in.”

MacLean: “I remember trying to walk to the rink. I think a lot of the guys were looking for meal money for that walk.”

Mike Craig: “I absolutely remember the introduction when the players walked in for the first time. Being in that environment and hearing the crowd and being in the middle of it and knowing that you are part of something special, I definitely remember that.”

Cornelison sings the “Star-Spangled Banner” for the first time at an outdoor event, followed by an F-18 flyover.

Cornelison: “I’m hyper-focused because obviously you have to be. You have about one minute, 40 seconds to sing a song that every single person is paying attention to, and every person knows every single word to it. I do remember it was the first time I was on a platform with cameras on booms floating around my face and I remember willfully not letting myself be distracted by that.”

Dan Craig: “(The flyover) is when it hit me because one guy that was on our crew (mechanic Rob Block), he and I went to high school together. I just put my hand on his shoulder and said, ‘None of our teachers would’ve ever believed this with the two of us. Nope. These two guys? No, not a chance they would do this.’”

Meaney: “I’ll always remember being in that former donut shop literally outside Gate 4 (where staff offices were located). That’s the first time I heard Jim Cornelison’s anthem. I remember that and the flyover. That’s my biggest memory of the game. That was pretty cool.”

Meanwhile, broadcasters got set from their respective perches.

Murray: “We were in the baseball visitor’s radio booth. The rink was so far away, so the perspective where our broadcast position was to the rink was completely unique. Because of the angle, we couldn’t see the play along the near boards. The boards cut off a lot of our views, so I would have to switch between the TV monitor and looking just to see when the puck was along the boards.”

Kal: “Were in the (home) baseball booth. We were way from the ice, and I called the entire game using binoculars. Vision is limited when looking through binoculars. So, here come the Blackhawks with a 2-on-1 break and Paul Woods my color guy said, ‘Ken, it’s a 3-on-1’ (laughs). I couldn’t see the third player because of the binoculars.”

Murray: “Even though the booth had glass that you could slide closed, when you’re in the enclosed area, the sound kind of echoes around, so we had to open the windows. Paul Zerang, our engineer, was used to doing some stuff outdoors with the Bears so he got cardboard for us and put it down on the cement because our feet were cold. He brought heaters, he had everything set up for us.”

Kal: “I bundled. I didn’t know where we were going to be. I thought we were going to be outside, so I made sure I wore a heavy coat. We ended up in the box and it was toasty warm in there. We had to take jackets off.

Olczyk: “They put us on a scaffold about 25 feet up in the air, about 20 yards behind player benches, we were positioned in short center field, really. The wind was going from our right to left and cameras were stationed under the press box. So we were looking at game from the opposite.”

Puck drop, game on

The game begins at 1:36 p.m. ET., the temperature around 32 degrees. Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook makes an early impact, hitting Detroit Red Wings forward Dan Cleary into the Chicago bench at 1:50 of the first period. It was payback after Cleary hit Kane two days prior at United Center, the Blackhawks forward sustaining an ankle injury.

Draper: “I remember ‘Clears’ getting ‘Kaner’ (on Dec. 30). It was actually right over on the hashmarks on the far side in our end when it was the first and third period. I remember Clears catching Kaner for sure.”

Cleary: “(Kane) doesn’t get hit very often and I caught him. It was on a power play I think, he was coming along the wall and I just got him good.”

Kane: “I had a high ankle sprain, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, all this buildup to the (Winter Classic) game and I’m going to miss it with a high ankle sprain.’ I ended up playing and was obviously limited out there, not feeling the best. I think I took a few games off after that game, but I was like, ‘There’s no way I can miss this game.’”

Torchetti: “I still remember saying, ‘Kaner if you’re hurting, I know it’s the outdoor game and I know you love all this stuff, but if you’re hurting, don’t ruin it for the next 20 games.’ And I remember him going, ‘I’m debuting my candy cane stick!’ I just started laughing.”

Kane: “I had a candy cane stick for the time of year obviously. White skates. I forgot how the idea came about. I don’t know, I was talking with my cousin, and he said, ‘You should design a pair of skates.’ I mentioned it to Bauer, and they were like super into it and the attention it could bring. They sold 88 pairs of skates to charity.”

Draper: “(laughs) I do remember Seabrook obviously getting Clears and Clears ending up in the Hawks bench. Absolutely. Yep.”

Cleary: “It was my fault. I went to dump it in, and I opened up fully front on and then I went right over into the bench, (butt) over teakettle or whatever that phrase is. I think I got a penalty because I had to go back on the ice. I should’ve just gone behind the benches (laughs). It was chaotic.”

It was homecoming for the Chicago-born Chelios. But coach Mike Babcock barely played him. The future Hall of Famer played five shifts, logging 1:57 of ice time.

Chelios: “I was lucky that Ken Holland and Jim Nill were general manager (and assistant GM, respectively) at the time, and they forced Mike Babcock to put me in the lineup, otherwise I would’ve been at Murphy’s Bleachers the whole game watching.

“It was embarrassing until I looked over and I saw my two sons (Dean and Jake) watching the game along the boards. They got on the field, so when I looked at them, I started laughing. They were asking me what was going on and I literally started chuckling. At the time Brad McCrimmon was the assistant coach. He felt so bad. He was the one who had to come down and tell me after seven minutes that Babcock told him not to play me another shift.”

Kris Versteeg gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 3:24 before Mikael Samuelsson tied it for the Red Wings at 9:50. Martin Havlat scored at 12:37 and Ben Eager at 19:18 to give Chicago a 3-1 lead after one.

Andrew Ladd, Blackhawks forward: “I think the first goal’s always the memorable one. It set the tone for the entire feeling of getting the crowd into it. And I remember Benny’s (Eager) goal, his celebration.”

Campbell: “The bench was good. I think players just kind of keep going and keep the momentum going. You just know it means a lot to your fans when you’re playing at home, if you can win.”

Kal: “It was 3-1 Chicago after the first period. I’m thinking, ‘Well these outdoor games are not too fun.’”

MacLean: “We were kind of guilty of feeling our way around and kind of looking around and seeing how things were going to go, maybe thinking it’d go our way if we just show up, type of thing.”

Cornelison: “They looked on fire. And Bobby (Hull) being Bobby, he sat there in the suite, maybe grouchy is the word, and said, ‘Ah, don’t mean nothing. Whatever team scores the first goal in the second period, they win the game.’”

Red Wings forward Jiri Hudler scores 1:14 into the second period, the first of five unanswered goals for Detroit.

Ladd: “The game script for that game was probably similar to that whole season and how it ended with Detroit: they (Red Wings) taught us a few lessons and that was probably the one I remember most. They play their game and at that time we were running around and eventually they took over with their experience.”

Kal: “It seemed to me in that second period, my attitude changed. ‘Hey, I like these outdoor games.’ (laughs).”

Campbell: “I think we were a little complacent sometimes and obviously Detroit was what they were, a really good team with a lot of firepower.”

One of those five unanswered goals was from Hockey Hall of Famer Pavel Datsyuk, who scored after getting the puck at center ice from forward Johan Franzen.

Sharp: “Datsyuk scored a beautiful goal on us, unfortunately. He split our defensemen (Campbell and Cameron Barker) and made a great move on the goalie. You talk about the (Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney) Crosby goal in Buffalo (the first Winter Classic), it was the Datsyuk goal at Wrigley. It was a sick goal by Pavel Datsyuk for sure.”

Ladd: “I still remember Datsyuk’s goal, which was a heartbreaker for us at the time.”

As the game continued, the “Windy City” became just that.

Olczyk: “Datsyuk scored a breakaway goal, and we used the phrase it was wind-aided because he got the puck at the red line and all of a sudden, he’s between both Hawks defensemen and next thing you know the puck’s in the back of the net.”

Campbell: “It affected that day, so I think the second period was probably, if you were defending that way, wasn’t going to be the easiest that way as well.”

Draper: “You’re skating around to start the third period, and you could really feel that the wind had picked up for sure. I can’t remember if it was before the period started or just when it started, but you could really feel the advantage of the difference between being downwind and skating into the wind. And what they ended up having to do was basically say, 10 minutes each, then switch ends, because the wind was so bad.”

With the Red Wings up 6-3 in the third period, Blackhawks ambassadors Savard and the late Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito and former Cubs great Ryne Sandberg teamed up for the traditional baseball seventh-inning stretch rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” It was revamped for the Winter Classic, “Take Me Out to the Hockey Game.”

Savard: “I’d done that a few times but not for hockey. I miss them (Hull, Mikita and Esposito) every day. Probably the three greatest Hawks who lived. They were in my eyes.”

With 53 seconds remaining in regulation, Red Wings forward Valtteri Filppula is called for holding on Seabrook.

Chelios: “McCrimmon told me to go out and kill the penalty. I said, ‘I can’t my toes are too cold.’ That’s the only time I refused to go on the ice.”

The Red Wings hold on to win 6-4, another chapter in a great rivalry, this time in a special venue.

Dempster: “I just remember us all with our arms around each other upstairs talking about how cool it was and how special it was, and it really is. It’s an amazing thing for the fans, and for the players playing, it’s different.”

Campbell: “It’s nice to have that, that I’ve played at Wrigley Field, I played on that ice. I tell my kids that. It’s just a layer of what kind of went on here for a number of years and that was one of the early things that happened with this organization and kind of the beginning of the lift-off.”

Draper: “They were the young team, up and coming. We were obviously a little bit older, the defending Stanley Cup champions. But for me, the Detroit-Chicago rivalry was something that was pretty special. Then you play in an outdoor game at Wrigley Field, it just, the buildup was incredible, and I don’t think the game disappointed. The venue certainly didn’t disappoint.”

NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika, deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman and independent correspondent Bruce Miles contributed to this report.