In what is seen as a largely a dress rehearsal for the Winter Classic on January 2nd, Flyers and Rangers alumni took the ice this afternoon for the annual Winter Classic Alumni game in front of 45,000 fans at Citizens Bank Park In Philadelphia. The Flyers legends emerged with a 3-1 thanks to goals from John LeClair, Shjon Podein & Mark Howe.
The star of the day however had to be 66 year old Flyers hall of fame goaltender Bernie Parent, who played only about 4 minutes, but stopped all six shots he faced, including a breakaway from Ron Dugay. It was pretty amazing just to see a guy of Parent’s age suit up, but for him to play well and make some saves really got the fans in South Philadelphia excited.
Other than Parent. the story was the partial reunion of the famed "Legion of Doom" line. While Mikael Renberg could not make it, Eric Lindros and John LeClair teamed up with Mark Recchi to reform the famous line which struck early when Lindros found LeClair at the side of the net for a tap in past Rangers goalie John Vanbeisbrouck.
All in all it was a feel good afternoon in South Philly to see all the Flyers and Rangers legends back on the ice. The pace was slow, the hockey was pretty bad, but excitement was there. The current Flyers and Rangers faceoff on Monday for the real thing.
For more on the NHL Winter Classic and the Alumni Game check out our full storystream and Broad Street Hockey.