"The fact that they moved the rink three floors up is amazing enough," he said during a recent visit. "But they kept the old cathedral ceiling and that's so cool. Even though it only holds a couple thousand people (capacity 2,539), you get the feel of the old Gardens."
Bowen pointed across the arena to a section of the rafters.
"You can still see where the broadcast booth used to be," he said.
Bowen was in the that very perch for the Maple Leafs' final game against the Blackhawks. It was a night that was remembered more for the grand ceremonies than the performance of the home team.
The Black Hawks
defeated the Maple Leafs 2-1
in the first game played at the Gardens, on Nov. 12, 1931. Almost seven decades later, Red Horner of the Maple Leafs and Mush March of the Black Hawks, two players from the first game, dropped the puck in the ceremonial opening face-off for the last one.
A goal by former Maple Leafs forward Doug Gilmour at 3:11 of the second period gave the Blackhawks a 3-0 lead and ended up the game-winner. Blackhawks forward Bob Probert scored the final goal at the Gardens at 11:05 of the third.
"There was a lot of extra stuff going on," goalie Curtis Joseph said Tuesday. "It was so much more about the history and the former players coming in and the memorabilia. It was overwhelming."
Joseph allowed six goals on 27 shots in the loss.
"The game itself, as an athlete, was almost drowned out by all these other things," Joseph said. "We didn't play our best, I didn't play my best, and that's disappointing. But it was amazing to see Borje Salming and all the guys you'd looked up to in town for the closing of the Gardens.
"It was a spectacular sendoff. And well deserved. Because that building was incredible. So intimate. It was a special place to play in."
