After all the hype and hoopla, it was Classic Wings hockey

As made-for-TV movies go, it was brilliant.

Even Hollywood couldn't have produced a breathtaking set as lifelike as the intersection of Lake Michigan and Cooperstown.

As events go, it was just what the fans wanted, if what they wanted was to tell their friends they were here, most of them having paid several hundred dollars - and in some cases, thousands - for a distant view, if they were lucky enough to be in the upper deck and have any view at all.

As games go, well, let's just say Blackhawks players and coaches will be happy returning to norm, minus the pomp and circumventing of schedules.

After all was said and hyped - and hyped some more - it was just a hockey game at Wrigley Field on Thursday once the match ended, and was more significant as a 4-pointer than sequel to last year's Sidney Crosby Classic.

As is often the case, the second version wasn't nearly as competitive as the original Winter Classic, and the Stanley Cup champion Red Wings thumped the Hawks 6-4 before 40,818 at the Frozen Confines.

Detroit is 4-0 against the Hawks this season, overcoming a 2-goal deficit in three of those games, including New Year's Day when they scored 5 straight in 22 minutes from the early second to the early third period.

After 2 easy Wings wins in about 42 hours, there was no more talk Thursday of closing the talent gap.

"Not today,'' said Patrick Kane, who gutted it out despite a bad ankle that would have kept him out of any game not titled with the word "Cup" or "Classic.''

"You win nine in a row and then they just pretty much handle us with ease.''

After a ceremonial parade of Hawks and Cubs Hall of Famers - including Ryne Sandberg, who stood at center ice where second base would normally be - and behind some amazing New Year's Day energy from the frigid fans, the Hawks carried a 3-1 lead into the second period.

"I think we were looking around quite a bit, enjoying the atmosphere,'' said defenseman Andreas Lilja. "But they took it to us pretty good last season. We take them seriously and we came out in the second more ready to play.''

The wind was blowing out to left Thursday, but by the end of the second period it was the Hawks left without wind and the Red Wings on fire.

"They're highly skilled at both ends of the ice, and they're experienced and they know how to close out teams,'' said Hawks winger Troy Brouwer. "That's why they're the champs.

"We're still learning as a team how to close out teams when we have a lead. We're young, but we will learn, and we'll learn how to play like champions.''

Detroit finished off the Hawks in the third period, and finally the most hyped regular-season hockey game in history was history.

"It couldn't have been more perfect for us, the way it worked out,'' said Chicago native Chris Chelios, who got the starting nod in a very classy move by Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "It was right up there with the All-Star Game in Chicago during the Gulf War (in 1991), and not quite a Stanley Cup game.

"There was a lot of buildup and it was great, but I think both teams are happy to get back to the regular schedule now.''

For the Hawks, it means regrouping after a pair of beatings that reminded them the Red Wings reside on a different plane, one on which they can flip a switch and bury the Hawks any time they want.

"It was a pretty sinking feeling in the locker room,'' said a dejected Hawks captain Jonathan Toews, who occupied a locker once used by Sandberg and sat staring and motionless in front of it for several minutes after the game. "Last year we talked about how we snuck up on them a few times, but I don't think we can do that anymore.

"I think they definitely sent a message.''

So much for the warm feelings about the Winter Classic. Oh, the idea was fun, and even the losing team enjoyed it, but it hurts when you get smacked around by your big brother just as you think you're finally big enough to beat him.

"This was a great opportunity for us to show how far we've come as an organization,'' said a glum Patrick Sharp. "Unfortunately the game didn't end the way we wanted.''

The truth is the organization has come far on and off the ice, no vision more startling than when Bobby Hull held up Rocky Wirtz's fist as they walked along a catwalk in front of the lower grandstand.

The fans cheered for Hull until he stepped away from Wirtz, pointed at the owner and bowed, while the fans roared approval for a surname that not long ago would have elicited hatred and epithets.

Talk about moving a long way in one year.

And this contest was so photogenic that one Hawks official wondered why the NHL wouldn't want to play at Wrigley Field every New Year's Day, and he had a point.

But a great week off the ice was a bit tougher on it, perhaps best summed up by Babcock, who was talking about a game at Wrigley Field between the children of players on both squads.

Said Babcock, "Initially, we thought our kids were going to play their kids, but (Joel) Quenneville told me that Toews and Kane are their kids, and I thought that was too big an advantage.''

Funny, yes, but also a reminder of just how young the Hawks' stars are today, and that you don't climb a mountain in leaps.

It's baby steps, all the way to the top.

brozner@dailyherald.com