2011 Bruins reunite in alumni game benefiting military veterans, active service members
"It's a bond you have forever."
It’s been over 13 years since Patrice Bergeron has laced up his skates and shared the ice with former teammates like Mark Recchi.
The camaraderie and chemistry that forged a Cup run for the ages hasn’t withered over time.
But the same can’t be said for aching joints and weary legs.
“Hopefully we can get on the ice before then and make sure we stretch out the legs and nobody pulls anything,” Bergeron said with a smile earlier this week.
Over 4,900 days since the 2011 Bruins seized hockey immortality in Vancouver, the 2011 Bruins squad still draws a crowd whenever they sprout up in the Commonwealth.
And on Saturday night at Warrior Ice Arena, several players from that Cup-winning club returned to the frozen sheet as part of Boston Bruins Alumni’s anticipated charity game against the Warrior For Life Fund All-Stars.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Bergeron said. “Gonna be a lot of fun. Looking forward to that. We have a little group chat going, and seems like the boys are excited to get back in town, grab a little dinner the night before.
“So it’ll be nice to just talk about memories and catch up on life. Life goes fast, and sometimes it’s important to take that time, to connect with some of the guys that you create something so special with. So that’ll be a perfect time for and an opportunity for it.”
In total, there were 12 players from the 2011 championship squad who took to the ice Saturday in Brighton: Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Dan Paile, Tuukka Rask, David Krejci, Mark Recchi, Chris Kelly, Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuk, Shawn Thornton, Gregory Campbell, and Adam McQuaid.
Tim Thomas was also on hand for Saturday’s game, serving as a coach instead of a player. Thomas shared the bench alongside 2011 Cup champion and current Bruins captain Brad Marchand — who helped the 2024-25 Bruins secure an overtime win over the Flyers just a few hours earlier.
Other Bruins alumni who skated Saturday included Kevan Miller, Andrew Alberts, PJ Stock, Mark Mowers, Bryan Smolinski, and Tim Schaller.
It was a packed house for Saturday’s matchup against the WFLF All-Stars — a stout roster composed mostly of active duty and retired Navy SEALS.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever doubted the Bruins fan base, maybe not since going into my first year here, when we weren’t sold out for the home opener,” Thornton said with a smile. “But definitely a passionate group.
“Being able to get a bunch of guys from that 2011 team back together, I think it’s probably pretty special and some people want to see it. Maybe they’re just here to watch me trip and fall for the first time on the ice in a long time.”
Assembling the Bruins’ stacked roster was a direct result of the efforts of Miller.
“There’s only a few guys I would do this for,” Thornton said. “Millsy’s one of them. … “He called me like a month and a half ago and said, ‘Hey, this is the deal. We’re doing this and this.’
“I’m like, ‘Millsy, I don’t skate anymore. I’m not skating’. He’s like, ‘You’re skating.’ I’m like ‘All right, so I’m skating, I guess.’ He still scares me.”
Supporting veterans and active service members has long been a mission for Miller, who currently serves on the Warrior For Life Fund board after announcing his retirement in 2021.
Saturday’s game was held in memory of Nathan Hardy, a Navy SEAL from Durham, N.H., who was killed in action while serving in Iraq in 2008.
Proceeds from Saturday’s game went to several charities benefitting service members and their families — including the Warrior For Life Fund, Fisher House of Boston, and Operation Hat Trick.
“The goal for me last year was to get as many guys as I could,” Miller said. “And credit to those guys. Every phone call I made, it was a yes. … The Naval Special Warfare group, they’re just constant professionals. I think a lot of people look up to athletes. As an athlete, I look up to them. And I could speak for a lot of guys in the rooms, it’s the same.”
Charity games might not hold the same intensity as pitched playoff bouts against the Bolts or Canucks.
But the Bruins’ alumni have had their hands full in recent years against the WFLF All-Stars — losing to them in 2021 and narrowly eeking up a 2-1 win in 2023.
“I heard it was a pretty competitive game last year. … I think their intensity is probably going to be higher than mine out there, but we’ll see,” Thornton said of the competition. “I’m still on the fourth line too. I retired eight years ago, and they still put me on the fourth line.”
There were plenty of familiar sights that played out on the ice during the Bruins alumni’s eventual 9-5 victory.
Sure enough, Thornton skated with his “Merlot line” teammates Paile and Campbell. Boston’s D corps was anchored by a stout pairing of Chara and Seidenberg.
Time seemingly hasn’t eroded Bergeron’s crisp details on the ice, nor has it sapped Krejci of his poise and patience with the puck on his stick. While Thornton didn’t cause havoc after the whistle, another resident scrapper in Stock had his fair share of hooks and chirps after the whistle.
Of course, there were some changes in store for the Bruins’ squad given the personnel on the ice.
With Marchand still yet to hang up his skates, the Bruins’ top forward line on Saturday featured Krejci skating in Marchand’s place on a forward grouping with Bergeron and Recchi.
It didn’t take long for the 39-year-old Bergeron to rekindle his chemistry with the 56-year-old Recchi — feeding the three-time Cup champion for a tally on the first shift of the evening.
Rask made his home between the pipes over his 15 years in Boston, but he’s skated as a forward during recent alumni games — setting up McQuaid for a tally in the second period before potting his own scoring chance near the crease later in the frame.
“You go through an experience like that, and you accomplish your lifetime goal as a group — it’s pretty special,” Thornton said of the 2011 Bruins. “It’s a bond you have forever. So yeah, we still have a group chat. We still talk to each other, support each other, chirp each other. It’s a fun thing to be a part of.”
Saturday marked a welcome reunion for several longtime Bruins teammates. But Miller hopes that it becomes a regular occurrence in the years ahead.
“It’s awesome. We had no doubt,” Miller said of Saturday’s sold-out crowd. “Another goal of mine is to do this at a bigger venue and sell more tickets and raise more money and more opportunities for fans to get involved in the whole thing. That’s a goal of the Warrior for Life Fund, and we’ll continue to grow that.”
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