Winter Classic at Wrigley brings back memories of the first outdoor game at the Cubs’ home

“It was embarrassing until I looked and saw my two sons (Dean and Jake) watching the game at the backboards. They came onto the field and when I looked at them I started laughing. They asked me what was wrong and I literally started laughing. At the time, Brad McCrimmon was the assistant coach. He felt so bad. He was the one who had to come down after seven minutes and tell me that Babcock had told him not to play another shift with me.”

Kris Versteeg gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 3:24 before Mikael Samuelsson scored the Red Wings’ equalizer at 9:50. Martin Havlat scored at 12:37 and Ben Eager at 19:18 to give Chicago a 3-1 lead.

Blackhawks forward Andrew Ladd: “I think the first goal is always the most memorable. It set the tone for the whole feeling of involving the audience. And I remember Benny’s (eager) goal, his celebration.”

Campbell: “The bench was good. I think the players just keep going and keep the momentum going. You just know that when you play at home, if you can win, it means a lot to your fans.”

Cal: “After the first period it was 3-1 for Chicago. I think, ‘Well, these outdoor games aren’t that fun.'”

MacLean: “We felt kind of guilty about finding our way and looking around and seeing how things would go, maybe thinking it would go our way if we just showed up, something like that.”

Cornelison: “They looked like they were on fire. And Bobby (Hull) being Bobby, he sat in the suite, maybe grumpy is the right word, and said, “Ah, that doesn’t mean anything.” Whichever team scores the first goal in the second period wins the game. ‘“

Red Wings forward Jiri Hudler scores 1:14 into the second period, the first of five unanswered goals for Detroit.

Director: “The game script for this game was probably similar to the whole season and how it ended with Detroit: They (Red Wings) taught us a few lessons and that was probably the one I remember the most. They play their game and at that time we were running around and eventually they took over with their experience.”

Cal: “It seemed to me that my attitude changed in this second phase. “Hey, I like these outdoor games” (laughs).”

Campbell: “I think we got a little complacent at times and obviously Detroit was what they were: a really good team with a lot of firepower.”

One of those five unanswered goals came from Hockey Hall of Famer Pavel Datsyuk, who scored after moving the puck to center ice from forward Johan Franzen.

Sharp: “Unfortunately, Datsyuk scored a nice goal against us. He split our defenders (Campbell and Cameron Barker) and made a great attack on the goalie. You talk about the (Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney) Crosby goal in Buffalo (the first Winter Classic), it was the Datsyuk goal at Wrigley. It was definitely a great goal from Pavel Datsyuk.”

Director: “I still remember Datsyuk’s goal, which broke our hearts at the time.”

As the game progressed, the Windy City became just that.

Olczyk: “Datsyuk scored a breakaway goal, and we called it wind-assisted because he got the puck at the red line, and all of a sudden he’s between the two Hawks defensemen and next thing you know, the puck is in the back of the net.”

Campbell: “It affected that day, so I think the second period probably wouldn’t be the easiest either, defending that way.”

Draper: “You roll around at the start of the third period and you feel the wind has picked up significantly. I can’t remember if it was before or just at the start of the period, but you could really feel the benefit of the difference between gliding upwind and gliding upwind. And what they ended up having to do was basically say, 10 minutes per person, then the change ends because the wind was so bad.”

With the Red Wings leading 6-3 in the third period, Blackhawks ambassadors Savard and the late Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito, as well as former Cubs star Ryne Sandberg, teamed up to play the traditional baseball version in the seventh inning from “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” It was reworked for the winter classic “Take Me Out to the Hockey Game.”