Thanks to the 30,000-plus in attendance for braving the cold and coming out to a truly memorable game.
After a dominating few minutes by Black, Gold gets one back as Casey buries the game's 13th goal.Second period, 4:33, Gold 8-5.
Second period, 5:40, Gold 7-5: B's players are getting plenty to raz their skipper about as Julien has now been stoned three-plus times by Farrelly.
Second period, 7:40, Gold 7-5: Black is storming back as Sweeney roofs one past Farrelly. Assisting on the tally was NESN's own Andy Brickley.
Second period, 10:14, Gold 7-4: Farrelly comes up with a huge save. The movie writer/producer/director took the puck off one of his two Budweiser cans strapped to his mask.
Second period, 12:41, Gold 7-4: There's a group of 5-7 shirtless young men along the thirdbase line. I'm assuming their plenty "hydrated" at this point, but if not, the first pint at Bleacher Bar is on me fellas — well done!
Second period, 14:24, Gold 7-4: Tim Robbins wakes up the crowd a bit during an on-bench interview. The Bull Durham star (ace Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh) wanted — an received — the old "Yankees Suck!" chant. Needless to say, this crazy crowd ate it up.
Second period, 14:48, Gold 7-4: Jay Miller popped one past Daskalakis for his second of the afternoon to give Gold a 7-4 lead after being knotted up just moments earlier.
Second period, 16:34 Gold 6-4: Neely strikes again, this time with a classic No. 8 tally as the big winger banged in a rebound to give Gold a two-goal cushion. Seabass is on a tear.
Second period, 17:53 Gold 5-4: Neely feeds LaFontaine again to give Gold the lead. These two could have made quote a duo back in the 90's.
Second period, 25:27 Tied 4-4: Claude Julien just had a promising rush down the left side for the Black side but came up empty as goalie Bobby Farrelly stoned him.
Second period, 19:35 Tied 4-4: And we're underway in the second (and final) period and Gold ties it up instantly thanks to a Neely goal.
End first period, Black 4-3: A couple of interesting observations from the intermission stat report: Middleton is leading the Black team with a goal and two helpers, while Byers took a five minute penalty for "turtling."
End first period, Black 4-3: Coach Clarke pulled the keeper with seven seconds remaining, but the extra attacker couldn't get the Gold a tying-tally. We're heading into the warm locker room after a frigid half-hour of action. Gold leads Black in shots 16-14.
First period, 2:28, Black 4-3: Both Leetch and Sweeney are skating like they could still hang in today's NHL. The only thing slowing them down is the snow build-up on the ice.
First period, 6:51, Black 4-3: Joel Finley, one of the auction award winners sneaks one home to reclaim the lead for Black.
First period, 8:12, Tied 3-3: Jay Miller ties things up with a wrap around tally for Gold.
First period, 9:28, Black 3-2: Werner and Jacobs just had a nice little slap fight off the faceoff. A little B's vs. Red Sox bout to stir up the crowd.
First period, 10:12, Black 3-2: Rick Middelton takes advantage of a penalty shot to get the Black squad back up on top. Nifty's still got it.
First period, 12:42, Tied 2-2: Neely and Brian Leetch set up LaFontaine for his second of the afternoon to knot things up. Neely had the nice power drive to the net along the left boards to open things up.
First period, 19:46, Black 2-1: Byers and Ken Casey just had a nice wrestling match at center ice. Not sure who won — it was more of a flop war.
First period, 20:59, Black 2-1: Another 'boss', Tom Werner is getting plenty of ice time for Gold.
First period, 23:31, Black 2-1: Pat LaFontaine gets Gold on the scoreboard. LaFontaine is one of three NHL players to play on all three New York clubs. Oh, he's also a Hall of Famer.
First period, 24:34, Black 2-0: Charlie Jacobs, 'The Boss" as Lenny announces to the crowd, pops one home to put Black up by two early.
First period, 25:42, Black 1-0: O'Reilly sets up Byers for the one-timer from the left side to put the Black team up 1-0. Byers took a heck of a spill to celebrate the tally.
First period, 28:44, 0-0: The helmet-less Cam Neely winds up and takes a rip from the right faceoff circle, which Cleon Daskalakis gets a leg on.
2:22 p.m.: Getting the party started was the legendary Rene Rancourt — tuxedo and all. Classic post-anthem fist-pump. The Jersey Shore kids have nothing on him.
2:17 p.m.: Claude Julien received one of the loudest ovations during introductions. Do you think Friday's thrilling OT win had anything to do with that? Cam Neely and Terry O'Reilly also received the most love from the Fenway faithful.
2:10 p.m.: Speaking of pep talks, Lenny Clarke was just announced to the crowd. Good job rallying up the troops last night, Lenny!
2:06 p.m.: The snow is starting to thin out a little here, but it's too early to take off those winter hats just yet. Still waiting for things to get going — I wonder who's giving the pregame pep talks? Any thoughts?
2:04 p.m.: Reffing today's game is the legendary Kevin Collins, a fellow Western Mass-er. One of the NHL's greatest (and retired after 28 years of NHL service) refs is a super guy off the ice, as well. I go a ways back with Collins, playing high school hockey at Springfield Cathedral with his son Chris. (there's your shoutout CHS, who happen to be 5-2-1, and eying another Super 8 berth).
2:02 p.m.: Dorchester native Neal McDonough, who many of you may know as 'Buck' from the HBO short series Band of Brothers will be skating for Team Black.
1:45 p.m.: Here's the rundown of today's event: After a 15 minute warm up period, there will be 30 minute periods of running time until it hits the 5:00 minute mark. Also… Tim Robbins will hopefully announce his presence with authority, Dennis Leary will hopefully not have to exercise his vocal chords again and Kiefer Sutherland will refrain from single-handily taking each and every one of us out, one Jack Bauer-punch at a time.
1:34 p.m.: Both squads have hit the ice for pregame warmups. Believe, these guys will need it. The snow continues to fall here at the Fens — not the greatest baseball weather.
11:41 a.m.: Good news, folks: the game is still on! A little snow won't ruin this event.
This just in from the Bruins' PR staff:
"Please be advised that the AT&T Legends Classic will still take place today as scheduled at 2:00 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. Gates will open as scheduled at 1:00 p.m. The stands have been shoveled throughout the morning, however the Bruins encourage all fans to use caution when traveling to and entering the park due to the continuous snow accumulation.
The current weather forecast (provided by the Red Sox private weather service, Meteorlogix) calls for additional snow to fall throughout the afternoon with accumulation of 2-4 inches."
Here are the rosters for the big tilt:
Black
Bob Beers, Andy Brickley, Lyndon Byers, Cleon Daskalakis, Gary Doak, Joel Finley, Mark Finley, Charlie Jacobs, Claude Julien, Neal McDonough, John McKenzie, Rick Middleton, Terry O'Reilly, Bob Sweeney, Don Sweeney, Kiefer Sutherland
Gold
Ken Casey, Ken Hodge, Bobby Farrelly, Pat LaFontaine, Denis Leary, Brian Leetch, Ken Linseman, Bob Miller, Jay Miller, Cam Neely, Brad Park, Tim Robbins, Dave Schultz, Rick Smith, Tom Songin, Tom Werner
11:10 a.m.: Don't put away your thermal underwear just yet Bruins fans, as there's another exciting hockey game to be played on the Fenway Park pitch.
The AT&T Bruins Legends Classic, featuring some of the greatest Bruins of all time mixed in with local celebrities, is a fund-raising event for a variety of charities including the Boston Bruins Foundation and the Red Sox Foundation.
Stay tuned for all the latest updates, with the puck dropping at 2:00 p.m. ET.
