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
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS