Guys with less hair and a few more pounds than their playing days took to the ice Saturday to kick off the Winter Classic 2017 at Busch Stadium. When the final horn sounded the Blues alumni beat the Blackhawks 8-7.
Peter Stastny and Pierre Turgeon each scored twice for St. Louis while Kyler Calder recorded a hat trick for the Blackhawks. Many players thought they had more in their tanks until they hit the ice.
“I thought I had a lot more in my tank,” said Blues legend Brett Hull. “I was good for about 10 steps and then the legs were just burning.”
Turgeon-who lives in Colorado-was flying the whole guy on the ice. Clearly he spends more time on the ice than most of his teammates.
“I looked at Gretzky on the bench and I said, well, he doesn’t golf,” said Hul. “And so I asked him. And he coaches and rides his mountain bike. So that’s pretty good for conditioning up there.
Despite all the offense, the largest rumble came when Hawks forward Jim Cummins threw a check on Garth Butcher. With no checking allowed in the game, Butcher was awarded a penalty-where he promptly missed hitting the net.
The teams traded goals early in the game. Pierre Turgeon started the old timers scoring 2:54 in as the puck went through Darren Pang’s five-hole.
Chicago roared back when tough-guy Cummins tied the game on a soft wrist shot. Brian Noonan gave the Blackhawks their first lead when he finished a beautiful feed from winger Eric Daze.
Larry Patey scored high on the diminutive Pang at the halfway mark of the first period making it 2-2. The period’s prettiest goal came of the stick of Kyle Calder who roofed the puck, giving Chicago a 3-2 lead.
The second period gave the goalies windburn with four goals and an unsuccessful penalty shot in the first eight minutes. The fans came to see legendary names connect and that happened 57-seconds into the middle frame.
Wayne Gretzky set up shop in his second home-behind the goal. He connected with Scott Mellanby who threw it at the net only to be stopped. The rebound landed on the stick of Peter Stasny who had an easy tap in.
Stasny added a goal to his assist with a goal of his owned to give the Blues back the lead. Kelly Chase and Barrett Jackman also lit the lamp, pushing the Blues to a 6-5 lead after two periods.
Daze showed again in the second period how great his hands were as a player. His push pass to Reid Simpson was a thing of beauty. Ben Eager-known for his grit more than his skill-also recorded a goal in the second.
The loudest displeasure from the hometown fans came early in the second when the disliked Daniel Carcillo scored on Martin Brodeur-tying the game at six. He was also booed during pregame introductions.
“Some buildings you expect to get booed, it comes with the territory,” said Carcillo. “If they don’t boo me then I’m not doing my job and nobody just wants to be a try hard.”
Keith Tkachuk brought the fans back to joy with a tip in goal. The old timer wen new school for his celebration with a dab.
“My daughter told me to do that if I got a goal,” said Tkachuk.
The Winter Classic kicks into gear tomorrow with today’s players on the ice for practice. ProHockeyNews.com will have full coverage on New Year’s Day and the game-weather permitting-on Monday, January 2nd.
Follow Adam on Twitter @Adam_PHN and you can always reach him at adam.minnick@prohockeynews.com
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