It was longest 5 minutes and 32 seconds Bernie Parent has played in literally decades.
In practice, you last a half hour, Parent said after the Flyers Alumnis 3-1 Winter Classic victory over the Rangers.
But in a game, theres pressure. We said this as a goalie, you never know what is going to happen and I was on edge a little until it was over. A lot of pressure. I felt the pressure.
Imagine, Parent won two Stanley Cups as a Flyer and admits he felt pressure in an Alumni Game.
Now thats the definition of true competitive spirit.
Once you get onto the ice, you want to perform well in front of the fans, he said. It never leaves you. Youre a competitor. Even now at 66, I am the same way. You get the same results.
He had a six-save performance while his replacement, Mark Laforest, got the victory with 16 saves and no goals allowed.
NHL
Fans chanted, Bernie, Bernie, Bernie during introductions. Parent said he was touched by the ovation.
I dont know how to describe it, he said. The feeling you get when people chant your name like this, money can not buy. Any amount of money cant buy that.
He began the game with a tremendous sliding save on Nick Foitu, angling in from the right wing.
A few minutes later, Parent stoned Ron Duguay on a clean breakaway with his pads.
Just like the 1974 semifinals when he had some incredible saves against the Rangers during that first Cup run, eh?
Parent nicked himself on his left side making the Foitu save.
I got up, he beamed. It was awesome. In practice, you dont do this but in the game you have to. It forces you to do things you dont do in practice and it was a lot of fun.
Duguay came down the middle and shot into Bernies pads. Parent fell and covered up on the rebound to a tremendous ovation from the 45,808 at Citizens Bank Park.
What was he thinking as Duguay broke in on him? Only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent?
Lord, save me one more time, Parent admitted. And he did.
Duguay said he wasnt going to pick a corner. So he shot hard right at Parent trying to go five-hole.
I was fortunate, Parent said. They went easy on me. What a great experience.
When Parent left the game, it was scoreless.
In my case, even five minutes was enough to go out and repay the fans a little bit, he said. Go out and have fun. That feeling, I am trying to find words to describe that.
My goal was a good five minutes. Five minutes was a long time for me.
He trained just 10 days for the event.
What meant the most, he said, and a number of Flyer Alums backed this up, was that the game was really a family experiencenot an Alumni experience.
Its one big family who got together, Parent said. Not a team from Philly. Its one big family and we enjoyed the whole thing as a family.
Parent said he had not played competitively in ages.
We did it one more time for a great occasion, he said. To give back. We are one big family here and three different generations, we did it right. I didnt have to play the whole first periodjust to go out on the ice and perform in front of a crowd like this, it doesnt get any better.
Surprising as it may sound, Parent didnt get the loudest or even the longest standing ovation.
Neither did Bob Clarke.
That honor, to the surprise of many, belonged to The Big EEric Lindros, who the fans showered with the most love.
It was awesome, Parent said of the Lindros ovation. Lets face it, with Eric, lets remember that the first three years, he was the best hockey player in the world before he got hurt first. It was well-deserved.
Its a beautiful thing, Bernie.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net