Wrigley Field proves perfect setting for ‘absolutely awesome’ Winter Classic 

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks rode the “L” to Wrigley Field on Tuesday, exiting the train at the Addison station and walking down Sheffield Avenue behind a band of bagpipers. Wearing “Team Chicago” outfits honoring charities and first responders, they hung their skates on their sticks and slung them over their shoulders like kids.

As they entered Gate 15, they caught a glimpse of the scene inside the 110-year-old stadium -- the green grandstands, the hockey rink on top of the baseball field where the Chicago Cubs usually play.

“I think that’s what’s really special about this,” Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno said. “It’s like everyone’s just enjoying the beauty of this game.”

Exactly.

This was the 42nd NHL outdoor game, the seventh involving the Blackhawks, the third in Chicago and the second at Wrigley Field. The Blackhawks entered the game on a four-game losing streak and in last place in the NHL. It was gray and 38 degrees Fahrenheit at face-off, a wintry mix falling.

Still, 40,933 people packed the Friendly Confines and partied throughout a 6-2 win for the St. Louis Blues in the Discover NHL Winter Classic.

The NHL makes each outdoor game unique and keeps people coming back. This one -- the first on New Year’s Eve -- was a spectacle that transcended the standings and the sprinkles. There was so much to see no matter where you sat.

NHL.com took it all in from three key spots around the ballpark:

FIRST PERIOD: Upper deck behind home plate

These were some of the best seats in the house, overseeing the field and everything on it straight on. Down below, at about home plate, was the stage. In the middle, across the infield, was the NHL rink. In left field was a youth hockey rink, and in right, a New Year’s Eve party.

Jon Gunn and Sophie Vaillancourt traveled all the way from the Canadian province of New Brunswick. They had gone to the Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston on Jan. 2, 2023, a 2-1 win for the Boston Bruins against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now here they were in matching Connor Bedard Winter Classic Blackhawks jerseys, holding their infant son, Thomas, in a little Blackhawks toque.

“I would love to be on the ice playing,” Gunn said. “It’s amazing.”

“Like you said,” Vaillancourt said, laughing, “I wish I was on the ice.”

The Smashing Pumpkins, the alternative rock band formed in Chicago, played three songs. The last was “Tonight, Tonight.” The lyrics fit perfectly.

“And the embers never fade

“In your city by the lake.”

Soon after Billy Corgan sang those words, the teams emerged from the dugouts, and fireworks exploded into the sky. The fans roared as Jim Cornelison belted out the U.S. national anthem like he does at United Center. Military planes flew overhead. More fireworks exploded.

“Let’s go, Hawks!” the Chicago fans chanted.

“Blues!” the St. Louis fans shouted.

Blackhawks legends Chris Chelios, Jeremy Roenick and Denis Savard came out for the ceremonial puck drop. When Bedard faced Blues center Robert Thomas for the opening face-off, Wrigley was rocking.

After the Blues took a 2-0 lead, forward Taylor Hall put the Blackhawks on the board on the power play at 15:26 of the first period. The fans sang along to “Chelsea Dagger.”

“Do-do-do-do …”

SECOND PERIOD: Scoreboard and bleachers

The second-best seats in the house might have been the office chairs flanked by space heaters inside the old, iconic hand-operated scoreboard in center field.

“It’s a cool atmosphere,” said Kyle Jakowitsch, a member of the Cubs grounds crew, which runs the scoreboard. “It kind of feels like a playoff game here today.”

The crew members set up the scoreboard for NHL games like they do for Major League Baseball games, updating the out-of-town scores as soon as the gates opened, treating periods like innings. They even used yellow numbers during a period, switching to white numbers after the period.

Jakowitsch peered through an open space in the scoreboard as Chicago’s Chance the Rapper performed during the first intermission. He held up his phone to snap a photo of the lights below.

Then he watched the second period -- the game and everything around it. He could see it all from up there.

“I’m doing as best I can to follow the puck,” he said. “It’s so fast, and there’s so much movement. It’s a lot different than baseball. You’re focusing on one thing. This, there’s people flying everywhere. Just trying my best to keep up with the puck and the action.

“I’ve just been kind of taking it all in -- like, the little ice rink in left field and the little New Year’s Eve party. It’s cool how they’ve just transformed this whole place. It’s really an experience more than a game. Everybody’s just here to have a good time, rain and all.”

Defenseman Justin Faulk gave St. Louis a 3-1 lead at 7:15 of the second. Jakowitsch sprung from his seat, grabbed a metal plate and placed a yellow “1” to mark the Blues’ first goal of the period.

He’d switch it to a yellow “2” and a yellow “3” as the Blues took a 5-1 lead.

Below the scoreboard, against the wall at the back of Wrigley’s famous bleachers, stood Zane Degonia in a Jordan Binnington Blues jersey. He had traveled from the St. Louis area to Minneapolis to see the Blues’ 6-4 win against the Minnesota Wild in the Winter Classic at Target Field on Jan. 1, 2022. He just had to come to Chicago see his favorite team play outdoors again.

“I love it,” he said. “It’s absolutely awesome. It’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

THIRD PERIOD: Ferris Bueller’s seats

Kyle Manske saw the New Jersey Devils defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 in the Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Feb. 17. He enjoyed it so much that he surprised his girlfriend, Paige Gleason, with tickets to the Winter Classic, her first NHL game.

They happened to sit in Section 101 near the left field foul pole, in about the same spot where Ferris, Cameron and Sloane sat for a Cubs game in one of Gleason’s favorite movies, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

“Walking up the stairs into the stadium, I was holding Paige’s hand, and I’m like, ‘Paige, this is the best part,’” Manske said. “When you go in and you see Wrigley Field, just seeing the whole layout, your pupils get huge. You can’t believe you’re here. Her eyes got so big. She’s like, ‘Oh, my gosh. We’re here.’”

Manske wore a Duncan Keith Blackhawks jersey. Gleason wore a Jonathan Toews Blackhawks jersey. Even though she didn’t like the Blackhawks, she was getting into the spirit.

The wintry mix had stopped earlier in the game, and it was 35 degrees when the third period began, comfortable if you were bundled up. The stands were still full despite the score.

“From this perspective, what I love is the view here,” Manske said “You get a great view of the ice here.”

Manske watched as forward Tyler Bertuzzi scored for Chicago on the power play at 11:15, only for forward Alexandre Texier to respond for St. Louis at 16:18. But he also looked at all the little details -- like the bridges over the frozen river on the field, like the ivy-covered brick design on the outside of the boards.

“The NHL does an amazing job,” Manske said. “Like, no matter who’s [in the game], it’s a whole-day event and festivities. The League does a really good job of promoting and selling it and making it a unique experience.

“The result? It is what it is. It stinks. But I think it’s just the experience of us being together, spending time together. This is an amazing first NHL game experience.”

Manske turned to Gleason.

“Like, you’re never going to forget this,” he said.

You’ve got to soak up these moments.

As Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”