2009 Winter Classic

Well, it's come and gone again. The now-annual outdoor game was a rousing good time in Chicago, as the Blackhawks hosted the Red Wings in the back half of a home & home series. Leading up to the event, I asked on the blog whether or not you were looking forward to the event and 6 out of 7 people polled were looking forward to the game. There's always one in the crowd to bring down the fun levels.

At the storied Wrigley Field, the conditions for the game were rather ideal. It sure looked like a great day for a game of hockey in Chicago. With temperatures around -7 degrees Celsius, the ice looked like it was good to play on. There was a lack of stoppages in the game to fix the ice, unlike last year in Buffalo, and there was also a lack of snow flying through the air

The game was full of superstars and had plenty of players in the pool and a lot of them were rewarded with points in the game, as it finished 6-4 for the Red Wings. For Chicago, it was Martin Havlat and Kris Versteeg who came away with multiple point games. Havlat, a Waiver Draft pick-up of Marcus', had a 3-point game, a goal and two assists. Versteeg, a Waiver Draft pick-up of Chris', had a goal and an assist.

The Red Wings were on top of their game when the second period came around. Four skaters finished with 3 points a piece in the game. Another Marcus pick in the Draft, Jiri Hudler, had a pair of goals and an assist to lead the way for the Red Wings. Having a goal and two assists was Ryan's top defenseman, Brian Rafalski. Having three assists each were Henrik Zetterberg (a Draft pick of Dale B.'s) and Marian Hossa (a Draft pick of John P.'s). It was a good day to have Red Wings on your pool team, without question.

The goalie earning the win in the game was Benson's Waiver Draft pick, Ty Conklin, who played in his third outdoor game, earning his second straight win in the Winter Classic. Conklin made 33 saves for the win and the 2 points for Benson in the pool.

All in all, it was a great day for hockey and another successful outing outside of the normal arenas. Can't wait to see where they go next season.