I’ve been an avid Bruins fan my whole life. I’ve actually never been to a live game (I had tickets to a game in 1992 that got canceled due to the strike), but have followed them religiously. My memory comes from the rink at the Central Maine Youth Center in Lewiston, Maine. It’s now the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
I was an 8-year-old mite playing in Lewiston for my school team, St. Peter’s, and we had a game against our big rivals, Holy Cross. We walked down the tunnel onto the ice for warm-ups and were greeted by a sold-out crowd of 2,500-plus!
Both teams skated around the rink looking bewildered at the number of people in the stands. We always drew a bigger crowd, but it was always only friends and family there. This was crazy. As I skated around, all of a sudden you hear this big cheer, and then I’m lifted off of the ice and am being carried by some guy as he skates around the rink. Of course, I’m flipping out, kicking and yelling, “Put me down! I can skate by myself!!! Put me down!!!”
So, the guy says, “Whoa! All right, buddy! Do it yourself!”
And he puts me back down on the ice to finish my warm-up skate. I look at him skating off, and he’s wearing a Black and Gold jersey with the No. 4 on the back.
I quickly realize that I’ve just been carried around the rink at the Central Maine Youth Center by the legendary Bobby Orr!
So I skate as hard as I can back to him, yelling, “All right! All right! Pick me up! I can take your help!”
He laughs and says, “No way, man — you’re on your own!” He proceeds to run a short scrimmage between our teams with some instruction in there, as well as some words of wisdom, followed by an autograph session. I’m turning 40 in September, and if I live to be 100, I’ll never forget that day.
Do you have a Bruins story to share? Send your story, along with a photo, to fanvoice@nesn.com. Please include the subject line “Share Your Memory” with your name and where you live in the body of the email.
