To get into the spirit of the Winter Classic — or perhaps, as Blackhawks defenseman Matt Walker said, because they had too much time on their hands — several players stenciled their hometown area codes onto the eye black they wore onto the Wrigley Field ice for the first time Wednesday.
“We felt like kids again, so … ” Walker said.
So why not remind themselves further of their hometowns and childhoods, which is the last time most of them played hockey outdoors?
“Toward the end of practice we were fooling around and raised our sticks toward the ceiling like we always do,” Patrick Sharp said, “and there was no roof there. Just blue sky.”
Duncan Keith said it hit him as soon as he stepped on the ice.
“I realized the sun was in my eyes,” he said. “Seeing that was a neat feeling.”
Here are a couple of your questions I relayed at news conferences and the open locker room Wednesday at Wrigley:
I heard the attendance for the game should be 41,000. With the seating configuration of Wrigley Field, I doubt that 50 percent of that total actually will be able to see the game. What is your take?
I walked around and, honestly, I think it will be better than people think. Obviously, the upper-deck seats, the $300-plus tickets, are best, but the bleachers aren’t as bad as I thought they would be. It gets tougher to see the lower you get, and everyone is farther away than ideal. But two mammoth video screens have been set up in the left-field and right-field corners, which will help.
As NHL spokesman Frank Brown said: “This is a baseball venue, and it will be as though it was flipped. Higher gives you the best viewing, and low is challenged.”
Is either team feeling that they shouldn’t hit or check as hard during this outdoor game because of the cold and increased risk of injury?
I asked several players this question and all agreed with Keith, who said:
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“Obviously, you have to warm your muscles up because it’s going to be cold. But good preparation will help. A lot of it is just mental out there. The wind’s in your face, it’s definitely not like a regular game, so you have to prepare mentally. But once you’re out there skating, your mind is racing, you’re more focused, the weather doesn’t matter.”
So the physical aspect shouldn’t be much different from a regular game.
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Questions for Rocky?
Let Missy know if you have something for her to ask during her exclusive time with Hawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz on Thursday at chicagotribune.com