Success puts fans in time warp

Bruins host their first Friday night game since 1977

Bruins fans arrived early to watch warmups before last night's game against the Panthers. ''Everyone's proud to be a Bruin again, and that's good,'' said Rachel Scoppa, a sausage vendor. (Photos by barry chin/globe staff)

Last night rekindled memories of hockey's heyday in the Hub, when the Bruins ranked with the Celtics and the Red Sox as Boston's top team, when Bobby Orr was a god, and when hockey was the winter sport.

Rachel Scoppa had heard last night was going to be special, and she could see why.

"It's like it used to be," the Everett resident said last night at her sausage stand outside TD Banknorth Garden, just before the Bruins-Panthers game.

"Everyone's proud to be a Bruin again, and that's good," she said.

With the Bruins having their best start in recent years, last night's was the team's first Friday night home game since 1977, and fans took the opportunity to cross-check the Celtics, the Garden's typical Friday night host, with their own festivities.

And the party was grand. With a special appearance by Steve Carlson, also known as "Steve Hanson," one of the brothers in arguably the greatest hockey movie ever made, "Slap Shot," the build-up to last night's game against Florida had all the pomp of the rough and tough Bruins of the 1970s, when Boston won the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972.

"This season harkens me back to when I was a 10-year-old," said Matt Pinardi, who watches games with his 10-year-old son, Nathaniel, a fan of team captain Zdeno Chara.

"It's usually the Celtics games [on Friday], and I'm a hockey fan. It's a great way to kick off the weekend."

Charles M. Jacobs, executive vice president of the Bruins and the Garden, said the 31-year wait for a Friday evening game is simply the result of scheduling by the National Hockey League. The idea that the Celtics hold court on Friday and Sunday, and the Bruins on Thursday and Saturday, has been a fixture of the local sports calendar for years, he said.

"I think it's just a novelty to have a Bruins game on a Friday; it's a one-of-a-kind experience," he said. "And if we can sneak a Friday or two in there next year, we'll do it, judging by tonight's success." The game was a near sellout, Jacobs said.

It seems things are already changing for the Bruins, who are tied for first place in the Eastern Conference after a 4-2 win last night, having won seven straight at home.

Fans who remember Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk, and Orr now cheer on Chara and Tim Thomas.

Erin Vellturo of Cambridge sported a Milan Lucic jersey on the way to the game with her father, Chris, and mother, Natalie. Chris Vellturo was looking forward to the festivities with Carlson, and was rushing to the event to get one of the 10,000 pairs of "Hanson brother eyeglasses" that were being passed out as part of the festivities.

Many were excited just to celebrate the movie.

"It puts a funny spin on a serious sport," said Mike Koulopoulos, a 17-year-old who goes to Scituate High School and who sported his team's 2007-08 State Championship jacket.

The honoring of "Slap Shot" added a bit of coincidence to the game, too. The movie was released in 1977, the same year the last Friday night home game was held. Carlson, known as Hanson to his fans, said he could feel the excitement at the game last night as he hosted special contests on the ice and signed autographs.

"History was made tonight," said Carlson, who also played professional hockey. "It just brings back old memories for the hockey fans and how the games used to be played. Damn, I miss those games," he said.

Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com.