Brian Field and his son Tyler, 10, stand against the backdrop of Gillette Stadium.
FOXBOROUGH — Going to see the Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens at Gillette Stadium qualified as a bucket list item, said one Lynn woman who attended Friday’s game.
“This is a great way to begin the New Year,” said Stephanie Starbard, who went with her father, outgoing Lynn School Committeeman Rick Starbard. “By crossing off a bucket list item.”
“I didn’t want to pass up this opportunity,” Starbard said. “I didn’t go to the one (in 2010). It was a great environment. Everything was set up so nicely, except for the game itself. I wish the Bruins had come out a little hotter.
Despite the festive atmosphere, special uniforms and Bruins coach Claude Julien coming out in a Bill Belichick-style hoodie in Bruins colors (and a Bruins wool-knit cap), Boston fell behind early to the Canadiens and never got going, losing 5-1.
“They didn’t play well through two periods,” said Lynn’s Brian “Bubba” Barrett, who handles public address duties at Manning Field and for English High basketball. “We thought they might have a push in the third.
“But,” said Barrett, who attended the game with nieces Madison, 12; Amelia, 8; and his father, Buddy, “it was great, though. The atmosphere was really nice. It even started to snow a little bit toward the end. Not a lot, but it just added to the afternoon.
“It wasn’t like a typical Red Sox-Yankees or Bruins-Canadiens game at the (TD North) Garden,” Barrett said. “It was more family-oriented, and everybody seemed to be having a good time.”
That’s what Lynn’s Brian Field took away from the game too.
“It’s just an unbelievable experience,” said Field, who attended the game with his 10-year-old son, Tyler, and two other friends.
“A couple of rows in front of me, there’s a guy with a Bobby Orr jersey and a guy with a Max Pacioretty (Montreal Canadiens player) jersey and they’re just having a very nice conversation. They may know each other … they may not. But I think it’s respect for one another, and respect for the game itself.”
Dan Santanello of Swampscott didn’t go to the 2010 game at Fenway Park, though he’s skated on the ice twice. He wasn’t going to pass this one up. He comes from a hockey playing family, with his son, Steven, who he took, along with his wife, Sandi.
“(Hockey) is part of my life as it is,” Santanello said.
Santanello said the game was tough to watch live.
“You’re really too far away from the puck,” he said. “Believe it or not, it’s much better watching (hockey) at the Garden. You’re really too far away here. I’m sure this is all for TV.”
Santanello said that the pre-game drill was pretty much the way it is on Sundays during football season.
“We came down early, and I was a little surprised that Route One was already bumper to bumper by 9:30-9:45,” he said. “The parking lots were full, with people out tailgating, only instead of throwing footballs around, they were playing street hockey.
“Everybody had their Bruins shirt on,” he said. “Everybody came out to play today … except for the Bruins.”
Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].
