Robbie Thomas
Red Wings Alumni Game March 2025
I’ve been looking to go to a Red Wings Alumni Hockey game for a few years, but I could never put 2 and 2 together with that. Last year Big Boy Arena, home of the Motor City Rockers, had both an Alumni and Rockers games. Following that, the ticket you bought from the Alumni game was also good for the Rockers game. But I couldn’t get that day off.
This game on the Idles of March 2025 had the Red Wings Alumni against the Montreal Canadians Alumni. The Wings had the ones I’m familiar with: Kirk Maltby, Dino Ciccarelli, Aaron Ward, Jimm Howard, Tim Taylor, Ian White (Rockers alumni, too), Brad May (I didn’t know he briefly played for the Wings), and Mickey Redmond. Derian Hatcher was on the roster, but I don’t recall seeing him. Was he there? For the Canadians, my familiar faces were Brian Smolinski, Mathieu Dandenault (also a former Red Wing), Pierre Dagenais, Brian Skrudland, Gilbert Dionne, and Erik Cole. There was a goalie with the last name of Desjardins. I thought that could be Eric Desjardins playing goalie instead of defense. Instead, it was Cedrik Desjardins. It doesn’t appear that the two are related.
Yours truly with the Stanley Cup.
I don’t want to write a ten-paragraph story about the game. It ended Montreal’s favor, 9 to 6. Those damn Canadians were cheating at one point. In the game’s final three minutes, multiple players were scrummaging for the puck just by the Montreal bench; three Montreal players were putting their sticks in the ice and interfering with the game. And the blind refs didn’t make a call! Boy, those refs are bad!! (Joking).
I enjoyed the game and like to attend more of these. Also, Darth Vader was on the Montreal bench; I didn’t know Darth Vader was a fan of the Canadians. Wowser!
