Rozner: Notre Dame was the real star of this Winter Classic

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The trick was to view this as the event that it was, not through the lens of a hockey season.

Or a rebuild. Or a reload. Or however one identifies the current Blackhawks trial.

This Winter Classic was set, after all, in one of the world's great sporting venues, Notre Dame Stadium, home of the Fighting Irish Football team, replete with a glorious view of Touchdown Jesus and the Golden Dome, with all the spirit of the present and the ghosts of legends past.

If your argument is for Wrigley Field and the Classic held 10 years ago Tuesday, few would disagree, but this was brilliant, the white of the ice up against the blue seats of the ancient football stadium.

Rather than traditional Notre Dame gold and blue jerseys, or the preferred green and gold, there was the black and yellow “B” of the Bruins and the famous Hawks crest dressed in black.

If the two hockey clubs had gone with more traditional Original Six uniforms, no one would have balked, but then there wouldn't be all those extra sweaters to sell.

Nevertheless, it was splendid. All of it. The game, the crowd, the atmosphere.

There can't be a more impressive campus, especially if you have a history, though mine goes back a long way, from summers of hockey camp at ages 9 and 10.

Run by the great Lefty Smith, the late Irish coach who has a rink named after him a few hundred yards away, with help from Notre Dame star Kevin Hoene, the memories remain fresh — and painful.

Part of our training over two weeks — when we weren't on the ice — was running the football stadium steps. Up all the way, down all the way, each of 36 sections a load, each step a small torture.

By the end of two weeks, we were told, we must be able to finish the entire stadium. It never occurred to us that if we didn't, there wouldn't be consequences.

We lived in the dorms and played basketball at The Bookstore, but most important we learned the game, a game played above the football stadium turf Tuesday in front of a huge crowd.

Walking down the stairs toward the ice pregame on New Year's was not at all painful, just an opportunity to witness the pageantry.

Secondary was the match, but not for the coaches, Boston's Bruce Cassidy needing precious points as the Bruins remain in the playoff race while fighting injuries, and the Hawks' Jeremy Colliton was on a 6-2-1 run heading in, a stretch of good hockey that really goes back a month since getting blown out by Vegas.

You could have made the case that the Hawks didn't need the distraction of this oddity while playing their best hockey of the year, but Colliton understood the opportunity, despite a 4-2 loss to the Bruins in front of 76,126.

“I accept how great this event is,” Colliton said. “We are playing well and we have a lot of good energy here, and I don't think the result today is going to affect that.

“Big picture, we're still on the right path. We can use this as just another experience as far as building our team and getting where we want to be.”

In a 2-2 game after two, the Hawks played the first 8 minutes of the third in their own end, and after killing three straight penalties — including a 5-on-3 — they never got it going again.

“Falling short doesn't feel good,” said Hawks captain Jonathan Toews, who's played in four of these Classic games. “But today was fun. This one is right at the top as far as special goes.”

Toews was all of 20 years old the first time the Hawks did this. That team was so young that Detroit coach Mike Babcock joked about an actual game that was supposed to take place between the children of both teams.

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

From so long ago to the present, the NHL — for all of its inability to get the simplest tasks completed — does the Winter Classic well, and with the Hawks involved you could see John McDonough's fingerprints all over it.

The names of Hull, Mikita, Esposito and Savard were well-represented before, during and after the game, as were Orr, Bucyk, Bourque and Shore.

Plenty of old-time hockey in the introductions and around the rink, eight Boston and Chicago players showcased on individual shamrocks surrounding the ice surface.

When the current players made their way into the stadium for the first time, they were greeted by several Irish football greats, including Heisman Trophy winner and Hall of Famer Tim Brown.

Four hours before the game, the Hawks were ushered into the arena by the CPD Pipes & Drums corps, and Hawks players were met by fans on Hesburgh Library Mall.

Pregame intros were set to the Notre Dame fight song, courtesy of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra, which also performed the anthem as four A-10 Thunderbolts completed a flyover.

“Got here early, did a couple of laps back and forth, and I think I touched the ‘Play Like A Champion' sign about 10 times just because it's so cool,” said Hawks defenseman Connor Murphy. “We're really lucky to have gotten this experience.”

Clouds and 35-degree temps made for excellent hockey weather and good ice conditions allowed for a well-played contest.

But 10 years after Wrigley Field, the star was the stadium at Notre Dame.

As the Hawks and the NHL dream of new concepts, this one will be difficult to top.