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November 11, 2002
RAIN FALLS IN BEANTOWN
By Matt Petersen
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BOSTON -- As we headed into New England, the rain
began to fall and news of horrible storms and
hurricanes up the Southeast coast had us worried a
bit. It would be our first experience filming in the
rain without adequate shelter from the arena.
It was going to be the third time we’d see the Bruins
so far, and we would see them a fourth time a few days
later in Philadelphia. We didn’t let the damp
conditions get us down for the Veteran’s Day matinee.
With fans streaming down from the “T” terminal that
was buzzing over our heads, we found shelter in a
business complex right by the Fleet Center and talked
to fans until a couple of helly-kelly security guards
told us to leave. They seemed to really get their
jollies out of kicking us off the property, and
without much of a fuss, we obliged.
No worries, we got some good conversation going, and
we can attest that Boston fans really are some of the
most passionate fans in all of sports. I was surprised
that no one really lamented that the Boston Garden
wasn’t around anymore. Almost everyone said it was old
and uncomfortable and rickety and that it was a dump
that should have been gone much longer ago. They
seemed happy with their new digs that doesn’t have as
many blind spots that were notorious problem in the
old Garden.
The Bruins are a bit of a surprise this year after
losing Bill Guerin and Byron Dafoe to free agency, and
holdout Kyle McLaren seemingly leaving a void on
defense. But steady the ship goes with the solid play
of one of the greatest first lines in hockey -- Joe
Thornton, Glen Murray and Sergei Samsonov. With no
Samsonov on the day, the Bruins still dominated, as
Thornton was his usual self attracting a crowd
whenever he deftly touched the puck, and Brian Rolston
put two in the net on the second line. Also very
impressive was third-line winger P.J. Axelsson who
hounds the puck constantly, and is one of the better
penalty killer’s we’ve seen.
It seemed that a lot of people didn’t have the holiday
off because the house was half-full. It’s been a
continuing trend on our east coast swing, and we
figured that too many fans are still in football mode.
I’ve overheard fans out here say that the season
doesn’t start until April. Maybe the season goes on
too long? No way.
The next day, we left our Cambridge residence where we
stayed with friends and marveled at all of the smart
kids walking around Harvard Square. We just about
marveled at everything in Boston, the area has so much
history. We walked through the cobblestone streets in
the North End, ate at an old-style Boston pizza joint
(supposedly the oldest in the US), the Pizzeria
Regina, and checked out the freedom trail and the
North Church that signaled the arrival of the
Redcoats.
So, we donned our coats and headed toward New Jersey
where the rain keeps falling...
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Game #16 11/11/02
Edmonton at Boston
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