The pie trick - like watching the Vancouver Canucks alumni in action - never grows old. The Canucks alumni were led by fan favourites, "Captain" Kirk McLean, "King" Richard Brodeur, and Dave Babych during an old timers charity exhibition game at Brennan Park Arena Saturday (March 24).
It was a great way to relive the Canucks glory days, when Brodeur lead the Canucks in the improbable playoff run of the 1980-81 season and when McLean captained the '94 team to the Stanley Cup Finals. For the younger generation it was a chance to rub shoulders with the Canucks and get their jerseys signed afterwards. As the puck dropped, the Canucks immediately proved they weren't beneath using the long running pie-in-the-face joke after Randy Leblanc of the Squamish Bald Eagles scored the first goal of the game to put the home team up 1-0.
As tradition dictates, the first person to score a goal against the alumni becomes a honourary Canuck. Leblanc received a Canuck jersey, which he put on for a photograph. As he posed, the perpetrator skated up behind him, pie in hand. Everybody, except the freshly-minted Canuck, saw it coming.
The pie incident set the tone for the game. The Canucks won 5-3.
After the game resumed, Canuck Randy Heath had a great opportunity and it was only the diving efforts of Eagle's goalie, Joe Webber, that kept the them from tying the game. Rob Gurr for Squamish scored five minutes later to put his team up 2-0.
In the second, Leblanc had a chance for his second of the night on a breakaway but failed to convert, however Gregg Van Heirden scored on the rebound to make it 3-1.
Everything turned against the Eagles when Webber let in a soft one from a long shot.
Down by one, Babych scored the tying goal on a breakaway. The referee failed to call a penalty when Blair MacDonald hooked an Eagle.
In the third period, Brodeur took a break from net and Terry Bingley got a chance. Bingley made some amazing saves to keep the score tied until McLean walked in front of the net all alone and scored to put the Canucks ahead for the first time in the game with only a few minutes to go.
The Eagles pulled the gaolie with 40 seconds left, but to no avail as Randy Heath potted one to make the final score 5-3. "We had a good time. They played really well. Squamish played hard," McLean said. When asked about how he felt about scoring the winning goal, he hadn't even realized he had done so.
"It's probably my first ever," McLean said.
Brodeur complimented the Eagles on their play.
"They had a pretty good team so we had to work which is good because if it is too easy then we lose interest in the game, but not tonight."
Proceeds go to the Squamish Networking Breakfast Club and Canuck's charities.
