[MissTeeks]

A look back from Flames Alumni on the 2011 Heritage Classic:

https://calgarysun.com/sports/hockey...ritage-classic

No pressure, gentlemen, but the Flames’ franchise is currently undefeated in open-air action — a perfect 1-0 thanks to that 4-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in teeth-chattering conditions on Feb. 20, 2011.

“They couldn’t even flood the ice, from what I remember, because it was too cold so they couldn’t use Zambonis,” remembered centre Matt Stajan, now back in Calgary — his home for nine seasons with the Flames — after skating last winter in Germany. “I remember during our intermissions, they just hosed it down and we’d go out and play and the ice had bumps all over it.”

Too cold for the Zamboni … Who would have thought that was even possible?

With that wallop of wintery weather on the Family Day long weekend in 2011, it should hardly be a surprise that nobody embraced that particular edition of the Heritage Classic quite like Flames alternate captain Robyn Regehr, a proud prairie boy from Rosthern, Sask.

Regehr donned a Roughriders toque — complete with fuzzy ear-flaps — for practice and, as a proud supporter of Gang Green, promised he would leave a surprise in the locker-stall that belonged to Stamps quarterback-of-the-day Henry Burris. (Asked if he still has that headgear, he cracked: “That and a few fake watermelon helmets, I think, are still kicking around in the closet somewhere.”)

The rugged rearguard brought along a pair of custom-beaded snowmobile gloves, a gift from the northern community of Stanley Mission in his home province, and loaned those to head coach Brent Sutter.

Apparently not worried about the wind-chill, he walked to work one day.

“When they announced it, I was not very excited because I thought, ‘Well, it’s going to be miserable weather and very challenging that way.’ So I had a very negative view of it originally,” Regehr admitted. “But that completely changed as the event came closer, and why it changed was I had all these memories flooding back of playing outdoors as a kid in Saskatchewan and playing on natural-ice rinks around Rosthern. I remember, we had a practice on the Saturday and the game was on Sunday, and with where we live, I had a chance to walk to the rink. I hadn’t walked to the rink since being in minor hockey as a kid. So again, all those great memories of playing outdoors and walking to practice, all of that came flooding back and it was really, really exciting.

“So I did this complete 180 with the event and my thoughts on it, and I really enjoyed it. I know it was cold and I know for spectators, it was a challenge because of the wind and the extreme temperature and all that … But I can tell you that having played in three of them, one in Dodger Stadium (in Los Angeles), one in Levi’s Stadium (near San Jose) and one in McMahon, the one here in Calgary, with the snow and the weather, for me, it was the best. By far.”

Hahaha, Kipper:

They reminisced about testing out eye-black and tinted visors, about changing long-underwear after every period so they wouldn’t be wearing sweaty stuff for the hoof from the Stampeders’ locker-room back to the ice. (Flames equipment manager Mark DePasquale recalled a rare request from Kiprusoff, a prank-happy puck-stopper: “He said, ‘I want a wetsuit.’ I said, ‘A wetsuit?!’ ” DePasquale said. “He said, ‘I don’t know how cold it’s going to be.’ So, I get him a wetsuit, I put it in his locker. He says, ‘Alright. Thanks a lot.’ Never puts on the wetsuit. Never changes into it. It’s minus-20. He’s a Finn, so he’s used to the cold. I said, ‘So, what’s the deal with the wetsuit? Are you not going to wear it?’ He said, ‘Oh, no. I just wanted to see if you’d get me a wetsuit.’ That’s Kipper.”)