1st Heritage Classic played 20 years ago brings back warm memories

Considering Montreal’s alumni were older than Edmonton’s, they put up a good battle. The teams delighted the 57,167 fans who showed up to watch and then stayed for the NHL contest.

“It was exciting to be able to get out there with our old teammates, we hadn’t done it in a while,” former Oiler defenseman Charlie Huddy said. “It was pretty special playing against guys like Larry Robinson, Guy Lafleur, and guys that I had watched growing up. To get out there and play against them it was pretty exciting. It was cold, but it was good.”

Because they did not flood the ice between halves of the alumni game, and as Hall of Fame coach and general manager Glen Sather joked, “players are a little heavier than they used to be,” Dan and Mike Craig, along with the rest of their crew, worked hard to get the ice back in shape for the game between the Oilers and Canadiens.

“The problem was the ice was very flakey because it was so cold and it was so brittle,” Lowe said. “I told them I was worried about the quality of the game because it was tough to make a flat pass. That’s when Dan Craig stepped in and said to give him a little more time that he would make a few more passes (on the Zamboni) and he would shave it down a little bit and they would get it to a better level.”

The start of the NHL game was delayed while the crew worked on the ice surface. Once ready, the players came out and Canadiens goalie Jose Theodore captured the spirt of the evening by wearing a toque on top of his mask, which was taped in place.

With the alumni warming up in a private suite following their game, the Oilers and Canadiens got down to the business of playing the regular-season game. Forwards Richard Zednik and Yanic Perreault each scored two goals for the Canadiens in the win.

“They had these big heaters on the bench, and you would sit there, and your feet would be on fire,” former Oilers center Shawn Horcoff said. “Then you would go out on the ice, and they would get cold again. But it was a great atmosphere. It was cold, but no one complained, because it was the same for both benches, and once the game started, your focus was on just playing and trying to win.”

Huddy went from the ice in the alumni game to the bench as an assistant coach with the Oilers. Because of the heaters on the bench, he and the rest of the coaching staff were comfortable.

“Once it got going it was pretty special to be a part of it,” Huddy said. “I remember the fans that came for the alumni game and hung around for the whole time, it must have been so cold. They were there for a long period of time. That’s the thing I remember, is the fans hanging in for such a long time.”

The event was a success and became a catalyst for more NHL games to be held outdoors for the next 20 years. The 37 outdoor games have drawn 1,851,642 fans.

“It was a magical time, no question, the temperature played into I’m sure,” Lowe said. “But Edmontonians and Albertas always show up on mass for big sporting events, and for it to be a sellout and be as successful as it was, we were very pleased for that particular game. At the very next board of governors meeting Gary Bettman made a statement saying it was the single most important event in his time as commissioner, which really made us proud.”