Bowman ready to watch Blackhawks take on Bruins at Notre Dame Stadium
Pretty much since the Blackhawks hosted their last outdoor game - March 1, 2014 at Soldier Field - Stan Bowman wondered at which other venues the NHL might be able to showcase his team.
Five years earlier, the Hawks played at Wrigley Field, so that was out.
Then it hit him - what about Notre Dame Stadium?
"I always thought to myself it would be really cool," said Bowman, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1995. "(I was) trying to think of where we haven't played that would be a nice opportunity. ... Thinking around the Midwest.
"Having gone to school there, it's a pretty historic place and a lot of great football games have been taken place in that stadium. How neat would it be to have a hockey game there?"
That dream became a reality last November when the NHL announced the Hawks will host Boston in the Winter Classic Jan. 1.
"I can't wait to get there," Bowman said last week. "I'm definitely excited."
Bowman has fond memories from his days on campus. Plenty of them revolve around the football team, and specifically the 1993 campaign in which the Irish went 11-1.
The season included an exhilarating 31-24 win over top-ranked Florida State Nov. 13, and was followed a week later by a gut-wrenching 41-39 loss to Boston College. Notre Dame went from No. 1 to No. 4 in the polls after the loss.
The bowl system being completely different from it is today, the Irish faced Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl and defeated the Aggies 24-21. Florida State squeaked by undefeated Nebraska 18-16 in the Orange Bowl when Scott Bentley kicked a field goal with 21 seconds to play.
The next day, the Seminoles were ranked No. 1 and the Irish No. 2.
"It was almost like, how can that be?" Bowman said. "They lost to us."
During his four years at ND, Bowman was thoroughly impressed with the on-campus traditions on game day.
"I was a football fan, but I didn't realize how the world stops on Saturdays," Bowman said. "I mean it's a huge event. You get indoctrinated pretty early that you live and die for that football team. It was exciting to be part of that."
Blackhawks fans can get a taste of one of those traditions before the Winter Classic begins when the team is escorted to the stadium by the Pipes & Drums of the Chicago Police Department. The procession should begin about 10 a.m. outside the Hesburgh Library Mall.
"It was our intention from the day we announced the game to bring the traditions of Notre Dame into our game presentation," said Steve Mayer, NHL Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President.
The Hawks haven't had much success outside, going just 1-4 while playing at Wrigley Field, Soldier Field, Washington's Nationals Park, Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium and St. Louis' Busch Stadium.
And even though the Bruins have lost two of three, they are 21-14-5 and don't figure to be a pushover.
"We don't have the best track record in the Winter Classic games, so we've got something to play for and we want to give our fans the best performance on that stage," captain Jonathan Toews said. "Whether we're home or on the road, we always seem to have a lot of Hawks fans come to these games. We want to give them a little bit more to cheer for this time."
After the 4-1 loss in St. Louis Jan 2, 2017, some Hawks said they played outside their structure and tried making too many fancy plays. Of course, considering the occasion and the fact that they're playing in front of a national TV audience, it's understandable that they'd want to put on a show.
"Just try to keep it like a regular game," Patrick Kane said. "I think that's the biggest thing even though it's not. So it's tough to do that.
"It's always cool playing in the football stadiums because you feel like you're on the ice by yourself. There's a bunch of fans there and a lot of people watching, but they're so far away from the rink. It's always cool playing in that atmosphere."
And for Bowman, it'll be more than a little cool to watch this whole event unfold in a place that helped turn him into the man he is today.
"Like anyone who goes to school, those are sort of your formative years," he said. "You're away from home and you form a lot of close friendships. It's not like high school where when school ends you kind of go home.
"There, you're with your friends 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I think that's why you form such close bonds with them.
"You grow up a lot over those four years and then you're ready to move on and kind of tackle the world."
The Great Outdoors
How the Blackhawks have fared in outdoor games the past 10 years:
Jan. 1, 2009 at Wrigley Field: Red Wings 6, Blackhawks 4 Attendance: 40,818
March 1, 2014 at Soldier Field: Blackhawks 5, Penguins 1 Attendance: 62,921
Jan. 1, 2015 at Nationals Park: Capitals 3, Blackhawks 2 Attendance: 42,832
Feb. 21, 2016 at TCF Bank Stadium: Wild 6, Blackhawks 1 Attendance: 50,426
Jan. 2, 2017 at Busch Stadium: Blues 4, Blackhawks 1 Attendance: 46,556
<b>Tuesday weather forecast:</b>Weather.com says it will be 32 degrees and cloudy with winds of 11 mph at the noon puck drop. There is a 5 percent chance of rain.