Nov. 22, 2003, at Edmonton: Montreal Canadiens 4, Edmonton Oilers 3
(Commonwealth Stadium, 57,167). Temperature at faceoff: -18 C.
Jan. 1, 2008, at Orchard Park, N.Y.: Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Buffalo Sabres 1
(SO) (Ralph Wilson Stadium, 71,217). Temperature at faceoff: 0.6 C.
Jan. 1, 2009, at Chicago): Detroit Red Wings 6, Chicago Blackhawks 4
(Wrigley Field, 40,818). Temperature at faceoff: -0.1 C.
By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It’s a couple of days after Christmas and the gifts all have been opened,
but Mark Recchi sounds like a youngster who hasn’t yet dug into his
presents.
“I can’t wait . . . can’t wait,” says Recchi, who will turn 42 on Feb. 1.
“It’s really so exciting.”
To say that Recchi, a forward with the Boston Bruins, is eager to get onto
the ice at Boston’s Fenway Park would be something of an understatement.
The Bruins are scheduled to meet the Philadelphia Flyers there in the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Friday at 10 a.m. (Pacific time). The game will be televised by CBC and NBC.
Recchi will skate on the pond at Fenway Park, the home of baseball’s
Boston Red Sox, for the first time Thursday when the Bruins are to hold a
practice.
“It’s going to be pretty unique to go in there . . . There’ll be some good
chills,” says Recchi, admitting that his memory bank was already leaking a
bit despite his attempts to stay focused on the games the Bruins had to
play before the weekend.
“All the days on the lakes and ponds . . . your friends building rinks. It
brings back everything,” he said.
Recchi, who grew up in Kamloops and owns a piece of the WHL’s Blazers, says there weren’t any outdoor rinks here on which he would play. But that hardly
cut into his ice time.
“There were ponds all over the place and there were lakes,” he says. “We’d
go to different lakes around the area and spend the day out there . . . fires and marshmallows and hockey.”
Still, when you think about it, Recchi and his teammates really are businessmen of a sort and they have some business to take care of prior to Friday.
“We’ve still got games to play before so we have to make sure we stay
focused,” he says.
The Bruins opened the post-Christmas schedule in Florida, beating the Panthers 2-1 on Sunday and losing 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. The Bruins are at home to the Atlanta Thrashers tonight
One of the things that should help the Bruins prepare for Friday is that head coach Claude Julien and three players have outdoor experience.
Julien was the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, who took part in the Heritage Classic in Edmonton on Nov. 22, 2003. (Guy Charron, the Blazers’ head coach, was an assistant coach on Julien’s staff, while Kamloops assistant coach Scott Ferguson was a defenceman with the Oilers.)
Boston forwards Michael Ryder and Steve Begin played for the Canadiens in 2003, and Daniel Paille was with the Buffalo Sabres, the host team for the 2008 Winter Classic. None of the Flyers have played in any of the three previous
outdoor games.
The three Boston players have related to their teammates that things are
quite busy leading up to the game.
Overall, though, Recchi says, “They just said it’s really great.”
“But it’s going to be really hectic,” admits Recchi. “We have to get our
focus and keep it.”
Ferguson agrees that there will be a lot happening.
“The fans are excited. There is a lot of media talk,” Ferguson said. “You’re trying to focus on the games ahead of it. And that day there are a ton of distractions.”
In an attempt to maintain their focus, the Bruins will spend Thursday night in a hotel.
“It’s New Year’s Eve,” Recchi points out. “Everyone has family, everyone is doing
this . . . there can be a lot of distractions. So they’re trying to limit that, which is good.”
From a coaching perspective, Charron says, “You just hope that nobody gets hurt and that it’s a competitive game. Maybe both coaches will say, ‘Let’s get a point out of this and go home.’
“Leading up to it you’re hoping it’s an entertaining game and that each team gets a point.”
In the hours leading up to the game, the main concern is likely to be the weather.
Rain on Monday postponed the installation of the on-ice logos. A cooling trend is expected to take the temperature close to 0 C and keep it there through Friday, although there is more rain in the forecast.
(NHL.com reports: “According to weather.com, the average daily temperature on New Year's Day in Boston is -0.6 C. Boston's record-low for Jan. 1 is -19 C in 1918 and the record-high is 21 C in 1876. The most snow recorded on New Year's Day in Beantown is the eight inches that fell in 1938.”)
Recchi is hoping for at least a bit of snow during the game.
“I have to be honest with you. I think that would add to it,” Recchi says and there is more than a bit of little boy in his voice. “I’d kind of like that. I heard we are getting some stuff . . . that would be awesome; it would be great.”
In the meantime, Recchi is looking forward to Thursday when he gets to go
for a spin on the ice at Fenway Park. He says he may even take a quick look at the Green Monster that hovers over what is normally left field.
“In the practice the day before,” he says, “I want to see if I can whip one up there.”
CLASSIC NOTES: This will be the first Classic in which G Ty Conklin hasn’t
taken part. He played for Edmonton in 2003, Pittsburgh in 2008 and Detroit
in 2009. . . . There are 6,000 sheets of Armor Deck protecting the Fenway
Park playing field from 20,000 gallons of water and 350 gallons of paint. .
. . Icemaker Dan Craig uses 3,000 gallons of coolant to keep ice surface at
the ideal temperature of 22F. . . . The TV networks will use 65 cameras to bring the game into your living room. . . . On Jan. 8, the New Hampshire and Northeastern women’s teams will play at Fenway Park, followed by a men’s game between the archrival Boston College Eagles and Boston U Terriers.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
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