St Louis coach Jim Montgomery walked around before Tuesday night’s Winter Classic, looked at the growing crowd soaking in the festive atmosphere and thought about all the famous ballplayers who played at Wrigley Field.
“And here we are getting to play an NHL hockey game,” Montgomery said. “It’s just really cool.”
The Winter Classic returned to Wrigley on the final day of 2024, and the Chicago Blackhawks threw quite a party. Fireworks streaked through the night sky at the home of baseball’s Chicago Cubs. The Smashing Pumpkins and Chance the Rapper performed, and actors Bill Murray and Jon Hamm got a big ovation when they were shown on a videoboard during the third period.
Photo: AP
It was a very Chicago party, but St Louis had all the fun, as the Blues rolled to a 6-2 victory over the Blackhawks in front of a crowd of 40,933, improving to 3-0 in the Winter Classic.
“This was an amazing experience for the fans and just for us, too,” St Louis captain Brayden Schenn said. “Having family and friends here to experience something like that at Wrigley Field, an amazing thing, and then winning on top of it.”
Just a couple weeks after he was acquired by St Louis in a trade with Anaheim, Cam Fowler celebrated his 1,000th NHL game with two goals. The 33-year-old defenseman became the first player in NHL history to skate outdoors for his 1,000th game.
Photo: AFP
The night — the confluence of events that put Fowler in that moment after spending his entire career with the Ducks — was “pretty surreal,” he said.
“Going through a lot of emotions the last few weeks getting adjusted to a new team,” he said. “But couldn’t have asked for anything more for this experience... It was an awesome night for all of us.”
Not so much for the lowly Blackhawks. It was a much different scene in the home clubhouse, where Chicago was searching for answers after their fifth consecutive loss.
Photo: AFP
Backed by the majority of a raucous crowd, the Blackhawks got off to a slow start and the Blues pulled away with three goals in the second period.
“You know, those tickets aren’t cheap for them to come and support us,” Chicago forward Connor Bedard said. “We, obviously, in our room are disappointed with ourselves, but I feel bad for our fan base coming out to this and we kind of lay an egg.”
Also on Tuesday, the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 3-1, the Toronto Maple Leafs upset the New York Islanders 3-1, the Montreal Canadiens survived the Las Vegas Golden Knights 3-2, the Dallas Stars topped the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 and the Minnesota Wild outplayed the Nashville Predators 5-3.
The Columbus Blue Jackets edged the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a shoot-out, the Colorado Avalanche crushed the Winnipeg Jets 5-2, the Detroit Red Wings overpowered the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2, the Edmonton Oilers defeated Utah Hockey Club 4-1, the Anaheim Ducks pipped the New Jersey Devils 3-2, the Calgary Flames burned the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 and the Philadelphia Flyers blanked the San Jose Sharks 4-0.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
RSS