NHL Winter Classic: Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens @ Gillette Stadium Jan. 1

[The Shrink]

There seem to be a few people from the Boston area on the forum (chinamaniac, Sanlmar, et al.). My wife and I are coming to Boston for the first time over New Year's to attend the Winter Classic outdoor NHL game at Gillette Stadium. Can anyone offer tips on things to do, where to stay, etc.?

I'm trying to figure out transportation from Boston to Gillette Stadium and it seems like a nightmare. The MBTA hasn't yet confirmed whether there will be a Patriot Train running. Any tips on alternative transportation options?

[Sanlmar]

Just starting the conversation here.....

Interesting point of destination. Wonder what drives you to see this. Huge hockey fan?

Boston has a First Night thing like so many cities.

You are from a warm weather state? Personally, I would do a day or two at a NH ski resort. Skiing & a pick up hockey game!

Commit to a bit of driving?

Transportation is a bitch. You're leaving your rental car at a train station and commuting to the city for First Night. Parking in Boston just ain't happening.

No good transportation between Foxboro & Boston.

[The Shrink]

Just starting the conversation here.....

Interesting point of destination. Wonder what drives you to see this. Huge hockey fan?

Boston has a First Night thing like so many cities.

You are from a warm weather state? Personally, I would do a day or two at a NH ski resort. Skiing & a pick up hockey game!

Commit to a bit of driving?

Transportation is a bitch. You're leaving your rental car at a train station and commuting to the city for First Night. Parking in Boston just ain't happening.

No good transportation between Foxboro & Boston.

Yes, we're huge Habs fans. Bracing for the inevitable vitriol we will receive from the Bruins' faithful. That's okay. There should be a pretty big contingent of Habs fans coming down for the game to bolster our numbers.

We're coming from Canada. Plan is to drive down to Maine, park our car at the Amtrak station, and take the Downeaster to Boston to avoid driving/parking in Boston. I'm mostly worried about getting to the game.

[Sanlmar]

Did you buy your tickets before the loonie became worthless?

Everything is gonna cost you a 30% vig.

Bruins fans pay $7.50 for a beer. Habs fans $10.40

Brutal

[Kuntmissioner]

[Shizzmoney]

The MBTA Special Train to Gillette has been announced, leaves South Station at 10:15AM:

http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/n...04&month=&year

[tgull]

Temps will be in the 50s for the game. Now watch, half the coverage will be about Global Warming. LOL. It has nothing to do about that, the fucking jet stream just did not make it that far south from Canada for the game. But watch, its all going to be about Global Warming.

[limitles]

There seem to be a few people from the Boston area on the forum (chinamaniac, Sanlmar, et al.). My wife and I are coming to Boston for the first time over New Year's to attend the Winter Classic outdoor NHL game at Gillette Stadium. Can anyone offer tips on things to do, where to stay, etc.?

I'm trying to figure out transportation from Boston to Gillette Stadium and it seems like a nightmare. The MBTA hasn't yet confirmed whether there will be a Patriot Train running. Any tips on alternative transportation options?

Watch the game from your hotel. I couldn't bear sitting among those hockey illiterates and parolees.

If you attend, get everyone in the mood by blasting an air horn as Renee the Rug lipsincs what hopefully will be his last Star Bungled Boner.

[Crowe Diddly]

There seem to be a few people from the Boston area on the forum (chinamaniac, Sanlmar, et al.). My wife and I are coming to Boston for the first time over New Year's to attend the Winter Classic outdoor NHL game at Gillette Stadium. Can anyone offer tips on things to do, where to stay, etc.?

I'm trying to figure out transportation from Boston to Gillette Stadium and it seems like a nightmare. The MBTA hasn't yet confirmed whether there will be a Patriot Train running. Any tips on alternative transportation options?

Watch the game from your hotel. I couldn't bear sitting among those hockey illiterates and parolees.

If you attend, get everyone in the mood by blasting an air horn as Renee the Rug lipsincs what hopefully will be his last Star Bungled Boner.

BITE YOUR TONGUE!!!!!

Rene Rancourt is a fucking legend.

[limitles]

What the fuck is a guy named Rene doing in Boston? Never mind blowing his denture breath on anyone within 50 feet and then shuffling back to the morgue, this guy's a turncoat.

[Crowe Diddly]

What the fuck is a guy named Rene doing in Boston? Never mind blowing his denture breath on anyone within 50 feet and then shuffling back to the morgue, this guy's a turncoat.

You are a bit out of his service area, but you should check out the description of his wedding package. Thoroughly enjoyable. You can actually picture it while reading it.

http://curtisknight.com/rene-rancourt/
...
"There are many ways to use Rene to make your celebration remembered for all time. Here is the way that we have found works best at weddings. Here is how it works: Rene will arrive and be hiding outside the venue until it is time for him to appear. He will sneak into the venue during your first dance and be waiting outside the door to the ballroom. Your DJ will slip him a wireless mic so he is ready to go.

After your grand entrance, immediately after your first dance, while you (the bride and groom) are still standing in the middle of the dance floor, the DJ will suddenly surprise intro Rene by saying “and now A special musical surprise – a present from the bride and groom to their friends and family attending today….
(the DJ will then start Kernkraft 400, the Bruins’ entrance theme – low volume “whoah oh oh oh …” ) “He… is the legendary singer of the national anthem for the Stanley Cup World Champion Boston Bruins . Here he is direct from TD Garden. Please welcome the one and only… Rene Rancourt!”


Rene bursts into the room and milks the applause. Your DJ will Pump the music loud for his entrance and let him walk in with the wireless mic already in his hand, and Rene will yell some stuff at the audience with the music from Kernkraft pumping …Rene will yell things like: “Wow !…Oh Boy !…This is really something …Whew !” and he will do a few high fives and hand shakes while everyone screams in disbelief. Then, as your DJ watches Rene’s movements and behavior your DJ will ease the volume down and announce, “Please rise and put your hand over your heart, as our National Anthem is sung by the voice of the Boston Bruins, Rene Rancourt”

…DJ plays the national anthem, Rene sings it and then…


At the end of Rene’s song, he will blow kisses, fist pump and salute … and he will make his exit, into the next room, or into a foyer, your DJ will do his outro “How ‘bout it for the one and only rene rancourt… Please take your seats as we prepare to toast our bride and groom. There will be autographs, Photos and meets and greets with Rene, after the toasts. Everyone, to your seats please.”


Rene will be waiting, ready for the next segment. Our DJ will then do the blessing and toast and then transition into the first song of dinner music. During that song Rene will position himself for photos and autographs in the adjoining room – usually the lobby or foyer. DJ will then transition and will announce that anyone that wants a photo or an autograph should see Rene in the lobby ( or wherever he is )


Rene will pose for photos with all of your guests and one big group photo with him in the middle if you like. And he will sign autographs for everyone attending your celebration ! Then he will quietly disappear."

[The Shrink]

What an atmosphere! What a game! What an experience! Trip report to follow.

[Sanlmar]

Heard there were 70,000 in the park.

Boston sports talk claims the Bruin suffered a beat down. To the point that we shouldn't even bother with trades this year. One game and we lost all self respect. It was that bad. Lol.

Look forward to Trip Report

[Hockey Guy]

The Bruins got booed off the ice after the first.

[Sanlmar]

Lost a last minute battle to avoid the city. Dinner at Legal Harborside with the crew in the Seaport District.

Went up to a condominium rooftop in the North End to watch the fireworks shot from barge in Boston Harbor.

[Crowe Diddly]

you can probably find yourself in this pic, shrink.

​http://gigapixel.panoramas.com/winterclassic/2016/

[The Shrink]

Winter Classic Trip Report: Part 1

The Winter Classic is an annual NHL regular-season game held in an outdoor stadium and the consensus is that it’s a must-do for any hockey fan. When it was announced that the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins would face off in this year’s Winter Classic I knew I had to be there. Also, given the intense Habs-Bruins rivalry, the build-up was going to be insane. For those unfamiliar with the history behind this rivalry, check out this awesome video montage:



The most obvious challenge would be to get tickets. I’ve been on the Canadiens season ticket waitlist since 2008 which, apart from giving me the chance to eventually buy season tickets (probably within the next 3 years or so), gives me various opportunities for advance ticket sales. Fortunately, I gained access to an advance ticket sale for the Winter Classic and I scooped up 4 tickets for about $725 USD. In choosing the seats I tried to strike a balance between field position, level in the stands, and price. In any stadium hockey game it’s going to be tough to follow the tiny puck from the stands. I tried to get as close to the middle of the field as possible and in the middle level of the stands. Too low and it would be virtually impossible to see what’s going on at ice-level (I noticed the fans in the lower level were standing throughout the whole game). Too high and it would be tough to see player numbers, let alone the puck. The mid-level, mid-field sections on either side of the stadium were club level seating allowing access to a separate concourse with indoor viewing. They were the most expensive seats and about 3X the price of the tickets I bought which were mezzanine level corner in the section adjacent to the club seating section.

The original plan was to go with my girlfriend’s brother and wife but they pulled the chute and I had to sell the extra pair. I posted them on StubHub in early December and was a bit worried because there were tons of tickets for sale. I also had to sell them before mid-December because I would be out-of-town for 10 days and I didn’t want to have to deal with shipping the tickets to a buyer in the middle of my trip and I didn’t want to risk trying to sell the tickets in the week between when I got back and the actual event. Turns out I didn’t have to worry because it was a sellout and there were people literally begging for tickets as we approached the stadium on game day. I’d be interested in learning more about optimal Stub Hub pricing strategies because I just did it willy-nilly. Initially, I posted them for the median price that tickets had sold for in my section and lowered the price by $10 per day until they sold about a week later. I got $375 per ticket minus fees which paid for the cost of all four tickets that I purchased. We were freerolling the Winter Classic.

By the way, the Winter Classic was a two-day event with an Alumni Game on December 31 (the day before the actual game on January 1). When you bought tickets you were actually buying for both games. There was no way to buy tickets for only the Winter Classic. So I also had an extra pair of tickets for the Alumni Game and I literally couldn’t give them away. At one point I priced them at $5 each on Stub Hub and they still didn’t sell so I just kept them.

The next logistical challenge was transportation and accommodation. There were a few different options that involved flying vs. driving and staying in Boston vs. staying near Gillette Stadium. They all had their pros and cons. We decided to drive down through Maine and then take the Downeaster Amtrak to Boston and stay in a hotel near the train station. This worked out very well. There was free parking at the Maine Amtrak station and the 3-hour train ride to Boston was inexpensive and pleasant. The train tickets were $36 each for business class. For the life of me I don’t know why people wouldn’t spring for business instead of coach as they were only $10 more. The hotel was a short 15-minute walk from the Boston train station.

The final challenge would be getting to the games. Gillette Stadium is 30 miles from Boston and can be tricky to get to. As I understand it there’s only one route to the stadium so if you drive you are going to be stuck in traffic both ways (one guy I talked to a few days later said it took him 2 hours to drive back to Boston after the game). You also can’t really get shit-housed at the game if you’re driving. There were chartered buses from Boston but they were expensive and you’d still be sitting in the same traffic. The Winter Classic game on January 1 wouldn’t be a problem because there was a commuter train going from Boston direct to the stadium. This train runs for all Pats games and they were making a special run for the Winter Classic. Shizzmoney alerted me to this train and I managed to buy tickets ($15 return) in advance using their app before they sold out. Unfortunately, this train wasn’t running the day before for the Alumni Game which made it a colossal pain in the ass to get there from Boston. This is probably why only about 40,000 people showed up for the Alumni game (that was the announced attendance – I think it was closer to half the 67,000 capacity of Gillette).

To get to the Alumni Game on December 31 we walked about 30 minutes from our hotel to Back Bay station to take a commuter train out to Walpole Station where we caught a cab that took us about a half mile from the stadium where we walked the rest of the way. All told it was about a 2-hour journey but fairly inexpensive. I had never been to Gillette Stadium before and it’s an impressive complex. There’s plenty of shopping and dining available and the stadium itself is clean and spacious. It was decked out nicely for the event. We had lunch at a great pizza joint and then wandered around the fan zone for a while where people were inexplicably lined up to do various activities like get their picture taken with Bob Beers and shoot pucks at a targets as others looked on and snickered at their ineptitude.



We went into the stadium where the first “Women’s Winter Classic” was underway. This was a game between teams of two different women’s professional hockey leagues (yes, there are two!) - The Boston Pride of the NWHL and Les Canadiennes de Montreal of the CWHL. A lot of hockey writers were excited about this game believing that it would raise the profile of pro women’s hockey. I thought it was a giant fail. There were about 500 people watching it in the stands, one player had a serious injury and had to be stretchered off the ice (poor girl is actually still in the hospital: https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...I8N/story.html), and they ended it in a 1-1 tie. Seriously? They couldn’t wrap it up with a 5-minute shootout? Terrible.



Then the Alumni Game took place and it exceeded my expectations. I got the opportunity to see many of the players I grew up watching as a kid. Although the play was sluggish to say the least, clearly everyone was having fun and there were plenty of goals to cheer. Ray Bourque sealed the win for the Alumni Bruins in the shootout. Crowd went wild. You gotta love Bourque.





The big news of the day concerned the status of two players for the game the following day. Brendan Gallagher, a fearless heart-and-soul plug for the Habs was unexpectedly cleared to play in the Winter Classic after being out 4 weeks with a broken hand (suffered when he blocked a slap shot). On the Bruins side, that greasy little puke Brad Marchand was suspended three games for this cheap low bridge hit and he would not play in the Classic.



Good riddance. Things were looking up for my Habbies who were in the midst of a terrible run of losses. I was happy we came out for the Alumni Game as it was a decent game and we got to explore the Gillette grounds and shop for souvenirs a day before the huge crowds. We took a cab back to the commuter station where we caught a train back to Boston. It was New Year’s Eve so the train was free. We walked from South Station back to our hotel and picked up some grub along the way. When we got back to the hotel it was already 11:00 PM and we were too tired to go out and partake in any New Year’s celebrations so we counted down to midnight while watching an episode of “Making a Murderer” and passed out at about 12:15 AM.

[The Shrink]

Winter Classic Trip Report: Part 2

The next morning we donned our Winter Classic Canadiens gear and took a quick Uber to South Station to catch the train to Gillette. There were a ton of Habs fans floating around and the Bruins fans were still behaving themselves at this point, paying us no mind. The train took about 45 minutes to get to the stadium and as we walked to the venue from the train drop-off, Canadiens fans engaged in friendly banter with the supremely confident Bruins contingent. It was sad to see a few ticketless fans (including a man and his young son in Bruins jerseys) standing outside the stadium futilely asking if anyone had extra tickets. I hope he brought bribe money for the security guards. Having toured the grounds the day before, we went straight into the stadium and settled into our seats with a couple of beers and dogs to watch warm-ups.







Before long the pregame show was underway. It was quite a spectacle. Lots of pomp. Lots of circumstance. American Authors opened the festivities with a 3-song set. A curious choice for the opening act I would argue. Simple Plan sang O’ Canada. Yep, they are still a thing. The poor guy who won The Voice and the opportunity to sing the Star Spangled Banner was booed as fans clearly would have preferred crowd favourite Rene Rancourt (he sang the anthem for the Alumni Game). If you weren’t convinced that this was a big event, the fighter jet that flew over the stadium during the national anthems made it pretty clear that this game was YUUUUUUGE.



The place was rocking. The 67,000 fans in attendance were going crazy. The Bruins fans were pumped, shouting at the tops of their lungs. They were ready for war. And just as they were starting up a chant of “Let’s go Bru—ins,” little Davey Desharnais scored just over a minute into the game to shut them the fuck up.



From that point on, it was a thing of beauty. The Habs absolutely dominated the first period and the 10,000 or so Canadiens fans in attendance were loving every second of it. The Bruins fans? Not so much. The guy sitting next to me (in the seats that I sold on Stub Hub) was losing his goddamn mind. “How fah can they lowah the bah? Doan try too hahd or nuthin’. This is wicked sad boys.” He basically spent the whole game complaining about how shitty the Bruins were playing and relaying this information to a buddy via text. I kind of felt bad for his girlfriend sitting next to him. I assume she was the one who purchased the tickets from me judging by the name of the person I shipped them to, possibly as a Christmas present for this ungrateful prick, and he did not have a good time. At one point he told her to “shut the fack up” when she “shushed” him after he shouted at the Bruins’ to “play hahdah!”

The first intermission was a shitshow. While the band Fun played a short set on the field, the concourse was jammed with people lining up for washrooms. I was standing in one line when the dude next to me declared to no one in particular that he “felt like absolute shit.” I took a step away from him and studied his face. Yep, an explosion was imminent. I high-tailed it out of there just as he was unloading a stomach full of Sam Adams and chowder on the people in front of him. The horrified screams in my wake confirmed that I had gotten out when the getting out was good. When I finally managed to get into a washroom I noted that the Bruins fans were starting to direct their increasing hostility at Habs fans who dared to urinate alongside them. Some were declaring that Habs fans have to use the women’s washrooms (you know, because we’re all girls). I don’t think some of them were kidding. My girlfriend said that a guy walked up to her while she was buying beers and shouted in her ear, “P.K. SUCKS!” Very classy.



The P.K. they are referring to is P.K. Subban, the Canadiens’ stud defensemen. I was proudly wearing my #76 Subban jersey to the Winter Classic. Subban is an amazing player. He’s one of the best defensemen in the game and probably the best skater I’ve ever watched. He’s quite a charismatic figure and recently pledged to donate $10 million to the Montreal Children’s Hospital through personal contributions and his foundation (the largest philanthropic donation ever made by a pro athlete in Canada). He’s also black. We’ll get back to that later.



Admittedly, it was difficult see the puck from the stands. You kind of had to follow the flow of the skaters and figure out whether they were celebrating to determine if a goal had been scored. It didn’t take long into the second period for Paul Byron to score and get the party started again:



Now the Bruins fans were really getting antsy. And to add insult to injury, late in the second period, Brendan Gallagher, back in the lineup from his long absence, scored an amazing goal in which he batted in the puck out of puck mid-air.



The few Habs fans in my section were going ballistic. And the Bruins fans had had enough. “Sit the fack down!” It was glorious.

With one second left in the second period, the Bruins had a chance to make a game of it and change the momentum when Ryan Spooner had all day to fire at an open cage. However, Massachusetts-born Mike Condon between the pipes for Montreal made this crazy glove save.



Now that’s a great save. But Spooner has to score there. I would estimate that 95% of NHLers given that amount of time and net to shoot at would score that goal. Unreal.

The third period would bring some life to the Bruins when they scored 4 minutes in. No need to show that goal. It was unremarkable. But a few minutes later, Max Pacioretty regained the Habs’ 3-goal lead, converting on a beauty saucer pass from Gallagher.



That was it for the Bruins fans. Now we were really hearing it. “Go home you facking losers!”

More like facking winners, EH. From that point on, it was a foregone conclusion. The Habs were going to win the game. They played well but one could make the case that it was more about the Bruins putting in a rather futile effort. Pitiful considering that the Winter Classic is always one of the most watched hockey games of the year and their fans paid a ton of money to attend the game. Great for us Habs fans, most of whom made the trek down from Canada. I came away from this trip with an enormous sense of satisfaction, largely because the Canadiens won. Had they lost I would surely be singing a different tune. Paul Byron put a bow on the Habs’ dominating performance when he notched his second goal of the game late in the third:



After the three stars of the game were announced (First Star was none other than Brendan Gallagher!) we filed out of the stadium towards the train back to Boston. This is when the real vitriol from the liquored up and frustrated Bruins fans started. I’ll say that 90% of the people we came across in Boston were gracious and hospitable, even when we were wearing our Habs gear around town. But during the walk out of Gillette Stadium after the game I was subjected to unbelievably revolting insults from some Bruins fans.
“Choke on Chara’s dick you fucking queer!” was a puzzling one.

“Go back to France you French faggot!” was uninspired, not to mention wildly inaccurate.

And then there were the Subban insults directed my way. In all their drunken rage, it was as though Bruins fans could only cope with their devastation and self-hatred by projecting racist remarks at their foes.
“Hey fuckface, didn’t you get the memo that Subban is a n*gger?” [note: the guy who said this was not wearing a Pooh outfit].

I heard about a dozen of these repulsive comments. Mostly from pie-eyed 20-somethings who would go back to humping construction jobs on Monday morning or taking shots in the back of their throats for $5 a man in Southie. But I had to wonder how they would feel the next day when they really sat down and reflected on their experiences at the Winter Classic. I, for one, would head back to Canada with a feeling of pride and renewed energy from our brief trip south. It was fun ride and an inspired game from Les Boys in bleu, blanc, et rouge.



In the grand scheme of things, for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins it was only one game that counted just as much as any other regular season game. But symbolically, the Winter Classic is much more than that. It’s the biggest game of the year outside of the playoffs and it is a huge battle of pride that will be written into the legacy of this great rivalry. I’d love to ask those racist New England jagoffs a few questions: How did it feel to spend all that money watching your team taking a steaming shit on the ice on the biggest stage of the hockey season? How did it feel when a bunch of “French faggots” and “N*gger lovers” came in and kicked your motherfucking asses up and down the ice? How do you like THEM apples?

[unchainedghost]

You did that trip pretty flawlessly

[DRK Star]

thanks for that