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Boston Bruins: The End Of An Era In Wilmington

By Andrew Thompson

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney makes the first of three consecutive draft picks in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney makes the first of three consecutive draft picks in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Boston Bruins said goodbye to Ristuccia Arena today.

The Boston Bruins are a team based upon tradition and respect. They’ve made a lot of partners in their near 100-year history. Today, the Black and Gold ended a partnership with a facility that became a secondary home to generations of Bruins. Today was the final day of the Bruins development camp, and their last official practice at Ristuccia Arena.

The Boston Bruins will be moving to their new practice facility in Brighton.  The Bruins will properly christen their new arena when the B’s open up their training camp in September.  Hopefully, the Bruins will take their first few steps in once again becoming a championship-caliber team.

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney took a moment after today’s practice to celebrate the relationship between Ristuccia and the Boston Bruins.

“First and foremost I want to acknowledge the people here in Wilmington, the community itself,” said Sweeney about the end of the Bruins’ time in Wilmington.  “We’ve been in this area for 30 years. [Rink owner] Bob Rotundo, and Eileen, have been tremendous partners with us. I spent my whole career practicing here and now in the management group and we feel very fortunate to have had this type of relationship with not only the town, but also the people here at Ristuccia.

“So I want to say thank you to all of them first and foremost, as this is our last time that we’ll be on the ice surface here as a group before we move into the new facility.”

Outside of Ristuccia is a concrete Stanley Cup that commemorates the journey taken by the Bruins during their 2011 Stanley Cup run.  If you’ve never seen it, it’s impressive. It celebrates not only the Bruins season but all the fans that waited 39 years to see the Cup brought back to Boston.

I hope the Bruins organization keep the statue there.

A lot of amazing players went through Ristuccia Arena. Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand, Cam Neely, Don Sweeney, Tim Thomas, and a list of other amazing players as long as your arm. All of them were a part of the history of that place.

It’s the end of an era in Wilmington.

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