There was so much anticipation leading up to this historic event. I, for one, did not want to look at the Farmer's Almanac months or weeks in advance in fear that I would see projected rain or heavy snow. On this past Monday, December 28, all the news stations were calling for heavy, steady rain on New Year's Day and a big blizzard on January 2, which would have been the potential makeup date; the Flyers would have had to leave by Saturday night at the latest due to their Sunday tilt vs Ottawa. I wasn’t getting too worried that early in the week since I know how weather in New England changes by the hour, but I wasn’t overly excited. As the week went on, the forecast progressed in the right direction, and by New Year's Eve, every meteorologist called for cloudy skies and 40 degrees with no precipation for New Year's Day! Game on, baby!
My alarm went off at 5am on New Year's Day, and I flew out of bed as fast as I can ever remember doing, due in part to my excitement and partly so that my girlfriend Rebecca wouldn’t be completely woken up. I was showered, dressed, and out of the house by 5:30, at Alewife by 6:20, and at Fenway by 7am, which was a ghost town; not exactly what I expected. I had made plans with a few friends to meet at Fenway between 7 and 7:30… Only one friend was able to get there on time. I walked around Yawkey Way and took many pictures. I was asked for an interview by NECN but declined. They still filmed me holding my ticket and asked me off camera how I got my ticket, how much it cost, and how long I have been a season ticket holder. Many people have told me that they saw me on TV. My friend Alison showed up at 7:45, and we headed to Game On, which opened at 8. I cracked my first beer by 8:05 and hung in there until 11:15. My buddy Matt and his wife Laura, also residents of section 325 at the Garden, joined us shortly thereafter. Game On was a blast; there was a good mix of Flyers and Bruins fans in there, going back and forth with chants and taunts. All the Flyers fans that I talked to seemed decent enough. We closed our tab around 11:00 and headed into Fenway.
I couldn’t remember being this excited to go to Fenway, probably not since going to Game 7 of the ALCS in 2007. I walked into Fenway and couldn’t wait to see the rink in person for the first time. I made a point to go find my other Bruins season ticket holder buddies such as Ed, Nancy, Jaci and Tracy to see the views from their seats and to get a photo-op to commemorate the day. I was very pleased with my seat, as I should have been since I paid pretty much 1/3 of what my season tickets cost; they even gave everyone Winter Classic souvenir seat covers and towels, which was a nice touch by the league. I was in the corner where the Bruins shoot twice so it was comparable to sitting in Loge 4 if I were in the Garden. I took time to walk around Fenway, and I have to admit, they did a great job putting this event on; the park looked great and I was really impressed. When I got back to my seat from visiting friends, I found out that someone in our box was willing to switch seats with me so I was able to sit next to Alison, whose seat was 4 seats down from mine. Although I wouldn't have minded sitting by myself in my seat, it was nice to be able to see such a special game with a friend.
The Bruins and Flyers came out for warmups at 1:00, and for the first time in my life, I couldn’t stand down by the glass for warmup. The Flyers warmed up at my end, but that was OK because that meant that the Bruins would be shooting at my end twice. I could still see all the drills in the Bruins' end, just not up close. When warmup came to an end, the Zamboni, which was smaller and lighter than those used for indoor rinks, came out to do the ice. The Zamboni came out of the centerfield bleachers, which was kind of cool.
The Dropkick Murphys performed before the festivities began, and thankfully, they performed only one song, “Shipping up to Boston.” They couldn’t get off the field fast enough if you ask me. The Bruins and Flyers then took the ice, followed by the teams' honorary captains, Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke, to take part in the ceremonial puck drop. The crowd booed Bobby Clarke and erupted for Bobby Orr. It takes a lot to get Bobby Orr at any Bruins event since he’s an agent now. The ceremonial puck drop was followed by both the Canadian and American national anthems. Daniel Powter performed “Oh Canada” and James Taylor did our anthem, much to the dismay of many Bruins fans who all wanted Rene Rancourt, but NBC had to have their way and have a recognizable person singing the anthem. Shortly after the anthems, there was a flyover by a USS fighter jet that came from Missouri; the jet soared over the left field light towers. It was 1:40 and it was game time!
Much like going to a Patriots game, nobody sat in their seats; everybody stood which was really cool. The Flyers and Bruins battled through a scoreless first period which is what I sort of saw coming. I didn’t see either team coming out flying just with the adrenaline pumping and all of the hype. Just over halfway through the period, the first fight in NHL Winter Classic history took place! Daniel Carcillo and Sugar Shawn Thornton squared off, and both got some good punches in to the point where I would have called it a draw until Thornton lost his balance. Carcillo made ridiculous hand gestures to the crowd as only he can. The two were yapping at each other from the penalty boxes; I was hoping to see them square off again, and I know if Milan Lucic were playing, he would have sent Carcillo to Mass General for those antics. After a scoreless period of play, I purchased a hot chocolate for $7 that came in a really nice commemorative Winter Classic thermos, and a nearly identical version sells for $25 in the Proshop. Also, there were three Flyer fans seated in front of me who paid a lot of money, though they wouldn’t say how much, to attend the Winter Classic, and they left after the second period. I don’t get it; we didn’t even harass them. I couldn’t believe how many Flyers fans were there, and they all must have paid through the nose to be there. I know Philadelphia has some of the most hardcore fans in US sports. There was constant back and forth chanting going on, like, “LET'S GO, FLYERS” and “LET'S GO, BRUINS,” and even a “YANKEES SUCK” chant was busted out, which I actually found hilarious, and it was something that both Philadelphia and Boston fans can agree on.
The second period started and Philadelphia absolutely dominated play. Aaron Asham nearly broke the scoreless deadlock as he was sent in on a breakaway by Claude Giroux, but Timmy Thomas stood tall and made a great save. Thomas, however, then made one of the biggest bonehead mistakes that I can ever recall. Philadelphia pest Scott Hartnell, who is a very good player but knows how to rattle opponents, used his knowledge that Tim Thomas is a very competitive hot-head in the rink to his advantage. Hartnell backed into Thomas and knocked him down, and then skated near Thomas again moments later; an irate Thomas came out of his crease to cross check Hartnell, and in the process, Flyers rookie Danny Syvret fired a puck from just inside the blueline through Thomas’ legs while Thomas was out of the crease, resulting in the first goal of the game and Syvret's first NHL goal. I was so upset with Thomas; he should have known better and let the players in front of him deal with Hartnell. All of the fans around me were frustrated and venting about how stupid that was and wanted to know where Tuukka Rask was. Thomas redeemed himself by stopping Claude Giroux on a breakaway as Zdeno Chara made a silly behind-the-back pass which was intercepted by Giroux. The score remained 1-0 after two periods of play, and I was getting very frustrated.
The Bruins came out for the third and looked a little better than they did in the second, but still couldn’t really generate any quality scoring chances. With about five minutes to play, Boston comedic icons Denis Leary and Lenny Clarke stood atop the home plate stage with two Boston firefighters and two Worcester firefighters, and they all led the crowd in singing along to “Sweet Caroline,” which has been an 8th inning Fenway Park tradition since May of 2000. All of the Bruins players were looking around in shock, but that must have sparked them as Kimmo Timonen tripped up Marc Savard, giving us our second powerplay of the game, and the Bruins converted as 41 year old Mark Recchi, who had done everything you can imagine in the NHL except for play in an outdoor game, beautifully redirected a Derek Morris half slapper from the top of the faceoff dot with just over 2 minutes to play in the period. The crowd erupted and I was jumping up and down and highfiving every fan I could possibly reach. I yelled to every fan how going to the net and scoring a goal is an amazing concept since the Bruins have lacked to do much of that this season. Shortly after, Flyers center Danny Briere was given a penalty which would carry into overtime if the Bruins didn’t score before regulation ended. They failed to score again, and the game was sent to overtime in which Boston started off on a 4 on 3. They failed to convert during the man advantage, and Danny Briere came flying out of the penalty box, took a pass, and went in all alone on Tim Thomas. I honestly couldn’t watch because I CANNOT STAND BRIERE! He’s always been on my shit list for badmouthing the Bruins back in the day and he does the same ridiculous pump after every goal he scores. All of the Flyers fans with whom I spoke hate him as well. After Thomas denied him, the Bruins pulled off the unimaginable! Patrice Bergeron made a gorgeous pass through a pair of Flyers players, and Marco Sturm tipped the puck through goaltender Michael Leighton’s legs to win the game! Sturm raised his arms, skated to the boards, and highfived somebody standing up against the glass. Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron jumped on him, and the rest of the team skated over and mauled him. The Bruins definitely did not deserve to win that game based on their play and lack of shots on goal, but it was such a magical, storybook ending to an epic day in Boston. I was so excited (as you can imagine) as I was jumping up and down; I even picked up and hugged my friend Alison. It was almost like seeing them win the Cup in person, it had that feeling to it. I also find it coincidental that Marco Sturm was the hero in the two most epic Bruins games of the last ten years, the other of course being Game 6 against Montreal.
Alison and I quickly departed Fenway and headed over to Boylston Street for a postgame dinner with Matt, Laura, Jaci, and Tracy. We had stayed for the three star selections and the postgame handshakes, but we missed Tim Thomas being selected to the USA Olympic team, but we were okay with that since I know how much of a nightmare it can be getting out of Fenway, and I was all Fenway-ed out. We ate and had a few postgame beers at the Chicken Bone on Boylston Street, and my day was done. I had spent over 12 hours in Boston and I wanted to get home. The 8 month wait, the $225 charge to my Visa Gold Card, and the potential bad weather leading up to the event was all worth it once Marco Sturm sent everybody home happy. It was a day that I will NEVER forget!
The Line Combinations were as follows…
- Steve Begin-Marc Savard-Marco Sturm
- Blake Wheeler-David Krejci-Michael Ryder
- Daniel Paille-Patrice Bergeron-Mark Recchi
- Shawn Thornton-Vladimir Sobotka-Byron Bitz
- Dennis Wideman-Zdeno Chara
- Andrew Ference-Johnny Boychuk
- Matt Hunwick-Derek Morris
Scoring Summary…
- PHI: Danny Syvret assisted by Jeff Carter and Scott Hartnell
- BOS: Mark Recchi assisted by David Krejci and Derek Morris (PPG)
- BOS: Marco Sturm assisted by Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron
Warmup music…
- Jay-Z feat. Lil Wayne and Kanye West - “One Republic”
- Dropkick Murphys - “Time To Go”
- Linkin Park - “Bleed It Out”
- Saliva - “Click Click Boom”
- Foo Fighters - “Pretender”
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