Red Wings give Hawks the cold shoulder, 6-4

CHICAGO - The atmosphere was electric. Bundled-up fans got a chance to extend their New Year's Eve parties and watch hockey in a venerable stadium where baseball usually fills the seats.

If the setting was different, the results were the same Thursday. The Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks again, this time out in the cold at Wrigley Field in the Winter Classic.

Players from both sides agreed on two things following Detroit's 6-4 comeback victory: The weather and the condition of the ice had little or no bearing on the result, and the overall experience was a blast.

"It exceeded my expectations," said Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom, who returned after missing two games with a sore ankle. "I don't think the wind or playing outdoors bothered either team."

Temperature at faceoff on an overcast day was a very bearable 32 degrees, even though a wind blowing at 18 mph made it a bundle-up afternoon for 40,818 fans at the second oldest baseball park in the major leagues.

"Holy Cow. It's Cold," read one sign, using the longtime catch phrase of the late Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray.

Pavel Datsyuk skated through two defenders for a go-ahead score in a three-goal second period, and the Red Wings scored twice in a 17-second span of the third to complete the comeback.

"I kind of had my mouth open in the beginning," said Detroit's Jiri Hudler, who had two goals in the second period to tie the game. "We were all looking at each other during the anthem - 'Wow, this is awesome.'"

The teams used the same locker rooms that the Cubs (Blackhawks) and visitors (Red Wings) use during the baseball season. The players trudged on covered skates through tunnels, up and down steps and across a tarp-like carpet to the rink. The Red Wings' coaching staff kept their heads warm with fedoras.

Martin Havlat had a goal and two assists to help the Blackhawks go up 3-1 after one period. But the Red Wings showed why they are the defending Stanley Cup champions, rallying to beat the Blackhawks for the fourth straight time this season and second time in less than 48 hours.

"They are the best team in the world. They are a team that can just take over when they want to," Chicago's Patrick Kane said.

Havlat also said the weather wasn't much of a factor in the disappointing loss. The Red Wings had beaten Chicago 4-0 on Tuesday night in Detroit.

"It was not too bad," he said. "You could feel it on your toes in the skates, but we were moving and it was pretty warm on the benches. "

Brian Rafalski scored on a power play 3:07 into the third period for a 5-3 lead. Seventeen seconds later, Brett Lebda's shot from between the circles appeared to go over Huet, but officials needed a video review to determine that it was a goal. After it was ruled good, Huet was pulled for Nikolai Khabibulin.

Video screens in right and left fields were set up to help fans who couldn't follow the puck from the lower seats. Most didn't necessarily need them - they stood up behind the two dugouts to see over the boards. And stay warm at the same time.

Even though most of the snow in Chicago had melted last week, the entire field was covered by the white stuff - some of it compliments of a snowmaking machine.

"It was a cool feeling seeing 45,000 fans screaming and yelling," Kane said. "The atmosphere was really unreal."

Detroit goaltender Ty Conklin played in his third outdoor NHL game. He was the winner last year in the initial Winter Classic when the Penguins beat the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., before an NHL-record 71,217 fans.

He was also in net for the Oilers when they faced Montreal in 2003 before 57,167 fans outdoors in Edmonton.

"I count myself very lucky. There's not a guy in this league who wouldn't like to play in these games," Conklin said. "I've had the opportunity to play in three of them."

The game Thursday was halted momentarily in the first period for minor ice repair that took less than a minute to complete. But there appeared to be no major problems with the surface, part of a two-week long project to turn a baseball park into a hockey venue.

"I think the weather conditions were ideal. The ice was really good. It was probably better than it is in some of our rinks," commissioner Gary Bettman said, adding he doesn't have a location right now for next year's Winter Classic.

If a player happened to step out the back of the penalty box, he would nearly land on the far side of the pitcher's mound. The goals ran from the first base line to the third base line.

The ancient scoreboard at Wrigley Field - which is still hand operated for many of the baseball operations - featured the day's matchup of NHL games. There was also a temporary scoreboard below the big one, set up just for hockey.

Several Red Wings, including Conklin, entertained fans in the concourse about 90 minutes before the game by kicking and heading a soccer ball to each other.

Dan Cleary, whose hard check in Tuesday night's game at Detroit caused a leg injury to Blackhawks star Kane, was driven into the Chicago bench early in the game on a hit from Brent Seabrook.

Kris Versteeg scored on a power play rebound to give the Hawks an early 1-0 lead.

Detroit evened it as a power play was winding down when Henrik Zetterberg went behind the net and fed Mikael Samuelsson. But minutes later, on yet another power play, Versteeg made a nice backhanded pass to Havlat, who shot it past Conklin for a 2-1 lead.

Chicago's third goal of the opening period came from Ben Eager with 42 seconds to go. He went behind the goal, withstood a hit from Detroit's Andreas Lilja and then reversed his direction before beating Conklin to make it 3-1.

Less than two minutes into the second period, Hudler got a rebound goal, and the Red Wings tied it when Hudler scored again on a rebound one second after a power play for Detroit ended.

Notes: Involved in pre-game ceremonies were former Cubs Ferguson Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg and Billy Williams, along with ex-Blackhawks Bobby Hull, Denis Savard, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito and former Red Wings' star Ted Lindsay. ... Duncan Keith scored the Blackhawks' final goal on a power play with 10 seconds left. ... Detroit had a 43-37 advantage in shots.

For 1 day, hockey rules in Wrigleyville

CHICAGO - As he waded through a sea of red, black and white outside his friendly old confines, Chicago Blackhawks president John McDonough couldn't help but let his mind drift.

The second Winter Classic was a few hours away. Yet all he could think about was the classic that's played every fall.

"I think this is what a World Series looks like," said McDonough, a former president of the Cubs, a team, as fans well know, haven't played in one since 1945 or won one since 1908.

He saw fans jammed shoulder-to-shoulder along the sidewalks outside Wrigley Field before the Blackhawks hosted the rival Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. He saw souvenir shops and bars that would normally be quiet bursting with customers.

He saw an eerily familiar scene, the kind that unfolds here during the spring and summer. The sort he helped create during his 25 years in marketing the Cubs before moving to the Blackhawks last season.

There were some notable differences, of course. Like that ice rink inside the stadium.

And on the outside?

Well, the famous red marquee above the main entrance that welcomes fans to Wrigley Field was still there, but this time the digital portion reminded them there was a hockey game - not a baseball game. Flanking it were two huge banners - one reading "Winter" and the other "Classic."

There were also large Blackhawks, Red Wings, Chicago, Detroit, Illinois and Michigan flags hanging out front. And the roof was lined with NHL, team and Winter Classic flags.

A longtime fan and local celebrity known as Ronnie Woo Woo was there, too, decked out in his favorite baseball team's jersey with "Obama '08" on the back. Only instead of yelling "Cubs, woo! Cubs, woo!" nonstop as he usually does, he chanted "Hawks, woo! Hawks, woo!" and occasionally posed for pictures with fans.

One constant: The home team was a hot ticket, even with temperatures that dipped into 20s. Actually, that's almost balmy for January in Chicago.

"We probably had worse weather on Opening Day," McDonough said, referring to his time with the Cubs.

A little cold certainly wasn't going to deter season ticket-holder Zac Leasure of Chicago.

"I'm probably going to cry as soon as I see the rink, and I'll probably cry at the end of the game," he said just after he walked into the stadium.

Ryan Cmich of Galena, Ill., was in awe as he stood by his seat in the lower deck along the third-base side after a three-hour drive with twin brother Tim.

"Couldn't be any better," he said. "I didn't realize they were going to have fake (Wrigley) bricks around the rink - great."

For South Side resident Molly Letourneau, the game was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

"I'd rather be here than anywhere else," she said as she stood across the street.

Her friend Samantha Martin was looking forward to going inside the old ballpark for the first time. At 19 and a lifelong White Sox fan, the corner of Clark and Addison isn't one of her favorite hangout spots.

"I've heard the atmosphere at Wrigley Field is really good," Martin said. "That's why I was excited to come."

Fans are excited, period, about the Blackhawks.

They're packing the United Center after being alienated by poor play along with late owner Bill Wirtz's refusal to televise home games and his frugal approach to contracts. Suddenly, the Indian Head logo is hard to miss and it was all over a neighborhood where baseball dominates.

For one day, Wrigleyville could have been Hockeyville.

At Wrigleyville Sports, across the street from the stadium, the window display was jammed with Blackhawks bumper stickers, caps, sweatshirts and jerseys. Relegated to a corner of the store were Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and Aramis Ramirez bobblehead dolls along with two small helmets and a home plate with a Cubs logo.

Inside, about half the merchandise was Blackhawks paraphernalia. Usually, there would only be a few items, manager John Moorehouse said.

The other day, a woman came in and said, "Ooh, I'd wear a Kane shirt instead of a Toewes shirt," referring to Blackawks Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toewes.

"Down here, we're used to hearing people say, 'Oh, I'd get a (Mark) DeRosa instead of a (Derrek) Lee' or something along those lines," Moorehouse said. "It's just funny to hear."

-- Andrew Bagnato

Cubs' curse thaws, dooms Hawks in 'Winter Classic'

CHICAGO - For all the bad blood between the Red Wings and Blackhawks, and all the novel ways they've come up with over the years to spill it, maybe the only surprise is that no one ordered them to "take it outside" before this.

Seven hundred times previously, more than any two teams in pro hockey, these "Original Six" members met and yet rarely raised this kind of ruckus. But a hometown crowd unused to seeing anything stirring in Wrigley Field from September until spring didn't have to wait long to find their familiar ballpark transformed into the "Unfriendly Confines."

Just two minutes in, Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook lined up Detroit's Dan Cleary, bounced him into the boards and then deposited him headfirst into the Hawks' bench. It was payback for the bruised leg Cleary gave rising Chicago star Patrick Kane during the Red Wings' 4-0 thrashing in Detroit two nights earlier. That one broke the Hawks' nine-game winning streak, and riding the momentum from Seabrook's hit to a 3-1 lead by the end of the first period, it looked like the locals were going to get revenge.

But that idea got buried by three unanswered scores in the second as the reigning Stanley Cup champions piled on the quality in waves, rolling up a 43-37 advantage in shots and a 6-4 win in the NHL's second "Winter Classic."

"It wasn't just another game," Chicago coach Joel Quenneviile said. "We had to bring our best game against them. But they played some very important games the last part of last season and they know what it's like to play a big game.

"And to me," he added, "this was a big game and a big experience. They responded well."

If the game wasn't a success for the Blackhawks, it was a near-perfect showcase for the NHL, venerated Wrigley, the city of Chicago, and perhaps even its quest to play host for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Commissioner Gary Bettman went out of his way to put in a plug on that score.

"Had a chance to chat with Mayor Daley," Bettman said. "I hope the Olympic bid is successful, because there's no doubt this is a great sports town."

The game certainly had a wintry, old-school feel, from the relatively comfortable 32 degrees when the puck was dropped to the snow dumped around the playing field to surround the rink - complete with a brick facade that mirrored Wrigley's walls - to the retro jerseys on both sides and the fedoras donned by the Red Wings coaching staff in a nod to a few of their legendary predecessors.

"Just old-time hockey," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said about his fashionable felt hat. "We needed something on our head, even though we didn't realize the benches were going to be as warm as they were.

"Probably didn't need it. And no," he added, smiling after back-to-back wins over their closest pursuers, "I won't be donning it again."

If his expression was any indicator, Bettman should have walked around the old ballyard in a top hat. His sport is still struggling to carve out a niche in the United States and rarely gets this kind of attention - unless one player caves in a rival's head or, like bad-boy Sean Avery did recently, disses his ex-girlfriend. But the sports calendar broke well and the novelty of ancient Wrigley, one of baseball's grand dames, decked out in winter clothes to usher in the new year made it a compelling event.

"The place was rocking. The national anthem was unbelievable," Kane said. "And just looking around, realizing you're playing a hockey game on a baseball field. It's probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I definitely will cherish it."

Kane is right about that. Detroit goaltender Ty Conklin was actually playing in his third outdoor NHL game, having been in the nets for the Oilers in the first unofficial winter classic in Edmonton a half-dozen years ago and again for the Penguins in Buffalo last January. The feeling, he said, never gets old.

"I count myself very lucky," Conklin said. "There's not a guy in this league who wouldn't like to play in these games."

Their chances will come soon enough. Bettman was coy about where he plans to take the game next, but he won't be hurting for invitations. There was talk this year's classic would be the last event played in the old Yankee Stadium, but New York is hardly the only town in the mix.

"It's something that we know can be a special part of our game if we do it right," the commissioner said.

"I have no doubt that after today's events the number will be increased and those that have expressed their interest will reinforce it. It won't be perfect science," he said of the selection process, "but hopefully when we make the decision, it will turn out like this."

The event seemed - to borrow a term from basketball, the game that early NHL owners nurtured to fill up the empty dates in their rinks - a slam-dunk. Going back to hockey's outdoor roots stirred more than fond memories of frozen ponds among longtime fans; it helped fire up the imagination of a few new ones.

Ryne Sandberg and Billy Williams, two former Cub greats who were on hand for the ceremonies as representatives of Wrigley's past, came up to the press box after the opening faceoff to warm up.

"Can you believe it?" Sandberg turned to Williams. "A rink in the middle of our field."

"When they first mentioned it to me, it sounded like something somebody thought up after too many beers. But you know what?" Williams said. "It was a damn-near perfect place to put down a hockey game."

Amen.

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitkeap.org