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42<br />
Perhaps the biggest of the three Winter Classics,<br />
the weekend included not only the New Year’s Day<br />
game, but also free skating sessions, team practices,<br />
Winter Classic parties and the Bruins Legends<br />
Classic game that pitted Bruins and NHL greats<br />
against each other for a friendly competition<br />
Jan. 2. The game raised more than $500,000<br />
for charity.<br />
Stellar season<br />
The Boston Bruins, owned by Jeremy Jacobs since<br />
1975, excited the team’s faithful fan base all year,<br />
posting one of the best regular seasons in team<br />
history during the 2008-09 campaign. With an<br />
Eastern Conference-leading 53-19-10 record,<br />
the Black and Gold were dominant on both ends<br />
of the ice. The team ranked first in the National<br />
Hockey League in defense with a stingy 196 goals<br />
allowed, and ranked as the league’s second-best<br />
offense (274 goals), a dramatic turnaround from<br />
the number-25 ranking the previous season.<br />
Since his hiring in May 2006, General Manager<br />
Peter Chiarelli has brought a combination of<br />
youth and experience to the Boston locker room<br />
through shrewd free-agent signings, trades and<br />
player development within the Bruins system.<br />
In recognition of his re-engineering the Bruins<br />
into one of the league’s most competitive teams,<br />
Chiarelli was honored by The Sporting News as the<br />
2008-09 NHL executive of the year by a poll<br />
of his peers, and earned a contract extension<br />
that will keep him at the team’s helm for several<br />
years to come.<br />
The Bruins’ tremendous regular-season showing<br />
was also worthy of several prestigious individual<br />
honors. Claude Julien became the third coach<br />
in team history (Don Cherry, 1976; Pat Burns,<br />
1998) to be selected as the winner of the NHL’s<br />
Jack Adams Award, which is awarded “to the head<br />
coach who has contributed the most to his team’s<br />
success.” Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was<br />
named the winner of the Vezina Trophy, which<br />
is awarded “to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the<br />
best at his position.”<br />
Additionally, All-Star Zdeno Chara joined Ray<br />
Bourque (five-time winner) and Bobby Orr<br />
(eight-time winner) as only the third Bruins<br />
defenseman to be awarded the Norris Trophy,<br />
which is given “to the defense player who<br />
demonstrates throughout the season the<br />
greatest all-round ability in the position.”<br />
And 2009 Jennings Trophy recipients Tim<br />
Thomas and Manny Fernandez were recognized<br />
for letting fewer than the average number of<br />
goals in their net.<br />
Off the ice, the Bruins were equally committed<br />
to giving back to the greater Boston community.<br />
Under the leadership of Charlie Jacobs, the<br />
foundation distributed more than $320,000<br />
in grants to 30 different children’s charities<br />
throughout New England, and was involved<br />
in a myriad of other outreach initiatives.<br />
Another banner year<br />
For the Boston Celtics and their fans, 2008-<br />
2009 was a season to celebrate and bask in the<br />
glow of championship glory. In just two short<br />
years, General Manager Danny Ainge and Head<br />
Coach Doc Rivers have led one of the most<br />
dramatic franchise turnarounds in NBA history.<br />
Following a series of stunning trades that added<br />
all-stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to a team<br />
that already included star Paul Pierce, the Celtics<br />
promptly lived up to their promise by winning the<br />
NBA Championship. Even more, the Celtics have<br />
demonstrated their staying power.
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