NHL legends, Roddickton hockey players battle to tie in northern Newfoundland classic

It was standing room only in Roddickton-Bide Arm's arena on Saturday, as hundreds of cheering fans almost pulled their local Lumberjack hockey players to an upset over a team filled with NHL legends.

The game was the last stop on this iteration of the NHL Legends Hockey Tour, which sees players like Ron, Rich and Duane Sutter, Chris Nilan, Bernie Nicholls and more travel to communities across Canada.

The Lumberjacks, a team made up of players from around the region, was leading 10-8 with just over two minutes to go. That's when the NHLers turned it on, and rifled in two goals in 48 seconds to secure a 10-10 tie.

"We'd like to get the [win] there, but that's all you can ask for, I guess," Adam Gaye, a hockey player and teacher in the northern Newfoundland community, told CBC News after the game.

"It was a great game, and I think everyone had a great night."

The town of less than 1,000 people pulled out all the stops to make sure the game went off without a hitch. The whole event was organized in just over a month, when the tour approached the town to fill a cancellation in their schedule.

Danny Simms, who scored a hat trick against the Legends, said he hasn't seen the arena as full in years.

"It's something the town has been hurting for for a while," he said.

Although many players didn't have to travel far to play in Roddickton-Bide Arm, one player had a 35-hour trip in order to hit the ice.

Daniel Gillard currently lives in St. John's, but travelled from work in Aberdeen, Scotland to play in the game.

"Hockey was a big part of us growing up. And unfortunately in the last 10, 15 years, hockey kind of died out. So it's good to come back, support our community, and put a bit of fun back in the community," he said.

For long-time residents like Meryl Carroll, Saturday meant a lot.

"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen in Roddickton. I got to be honest." she said.

On top of watching the Lumberjacks and Legends, she also got to watch her granddaughter, Briella, take to the ice. Minor hockey players from the community subbed in for the Lumberjacks in the second period, and got some of the loudest cheers when they put six goals past their older opponents.

'Dream big', NHL players tell local youth

The tour has brought players like Duane Sutter all over Canada.

He won four Stanley Cups in his playing career, but he says playing in rinks like the one in Roddickton-Bide Arm bring him back to the start of his hockey career in small town Alberta.

"We grew up dreaming of winning the Stanley Cup…all these little ones are thinking the same. They're dreaming of winning the Stanley Cup, too. And that's perfect. Dream big."

Nicholls, who played who played over 1,000 games in the NHL, said it was great to see the amount of support for the players. He commended the Lumberjacks on a great game, but said the legends knew they had to turn up the pressure late to secure a tie.

"They were pretty good," Nicholls said. "They're gonna play real hard. We play about as hard as we have to, you know, to win. Sometimes we have to work a little harder than most, tonight was the day."

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.