Sudden Death

Boston 2, Philadelphia 1 OT

It's a "tradition" that's only three years old, but so far outdoor hockey on New Year's Day seems to be living up to the NHL's billing of the event as the "Winter Classic."

The game started with the kind of physical play you might expect from teams nicknamed "Broad St. Bullies" and "Big Bad Bruins." But the physicality of play around the net cost Bruins goalie Tim Thomas dearly as he left the crease to retaliate against a Flyer who had bumped him earlier... And the puck whizzed into the net through the space he should have occupied.

For all but the final two minutes, it remained the only score. Until the Bruins rallied to tie on one deflection in front of the net and then won on another early into 4 on 4 overtime... Precisely the kind of goal Thomas was trying to avoid having scored against him when he launched his ill-timed retaliation

But as the shadows grew long across Fenway Park, it reminded all of their youth.... From the thousands who had paid hundreds to be present at a spectacle they would have seen better at home, to the players both on the ice and off who remember pickup games in frozen over back yards or local ponds... When sudden death meant getting called to dinner.