Oilers Alumni give their all in 6-5 loss to Jets Alumni

An afternoon crowd in Winnipeg saw some of their heroes play again with the Jets alumni winning 6 - 5 over the Oilers alumni in the Heritage Classic Saturday.

• Old school Jets exact revenge against Oilers of old at Heritage Classic Alumni game
• Selanne leads Jets over Oilers in alumni game

Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Paul Coffey suited up for the Oilers in front of the crowd at Investors Group Field.

As the time ticked down the intensity picked up, with Teemu Selanne netting the game winner in the dying seconds.

"The game ended the way it should end with the best player on the ice, on the home team scoring a big goal," Wayne Gretzky said after the game.

Paul Coffey's analysis was a little more tongue-in-cheek, and a little more blunt. "I probably should have trained a little harder," he said.

The high flying Edmonton Oilers of the 80s were grounded by the man they call the Finnish Flash.

It was the Teemu Selanne show at the first ever NHL Heritage Classic alumni game in Winnipeg on Saturday night, as he scored two goals and three assists. 

Selanne, who played in Winnipeg for four years in the early 90s and still holds the record for most goals scored by a rookie at 76, led the Winnipeg alumni team to victory — with some last-second heroics. 

Selanne scored on a penalty shot with less than ten seconds to play.

The 46-year-old, who retired from the NHL just two seasons ago, finished the game the way he started it: with a penalty shot. He dipsy-doodled around Oilers goalie Bill Ranford, sending the predominantly Winnipeg Jets crowd to their feet chanting his name.

"It's amazing. Obviously I've always had a great relationship with the fans and people here, " said Selanne, after the action was over.

"So it was really special. And I knew I'm going to score, too, so it's a good feeling."

The game was tied 5-5 with about 10 seconds left, when Oilers forward Craig Simpson tripped Selanne in front of the Jets net. The referee pointed to the centre right away. And Selanne, who was handed the key to the city on Friday night, had the game on his stick.  

Simpson said he knew right away that he took down the "wrong guy" on the opposing team.

"It wasn't part of the script, " Simpson explained in the locker room afterwards. He called the play "bone-headed," and chalked it up to fatigue. "It was a dumb play and one that cost us."

'Let's get going'

The high-flying Oilers of the 80s had a sluggish start, but their play was not completely without glitter.

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Former Oilers captain Mark Messier got the Oilers on the board with his patented wrist shot that caught Jets goalie Bob Essesna off guard to make it 3-1.

The first period ended with the Jets in control 4-1 though. That's when, according to Dave Lumley, Messier showed some of his former fire — telling his teammates to pick up their play.

"Mess gave us the little jock talk, he gave us the little inspirational speech, we'll call it. In other words, it was a kick in everybody's ass. 'Let's get going,' " joked Lumley.

And it worked. Just like the Oilers of old, the alumni team roared back. Goalie Dwayne Roloson manned the pipes, scoring four straight goals with the comeback led by Craig MacTavish, and Mark Messier.

Then in the third period, MacTavish fed Blair MacDonald to give the visitors the lead.

But Selanne rallied his own troops with his play dropping a pass to Kris King for his second goal to tie the game 5-5.

The game ended the way it should end — with the best player on the ice, on the home team scoring a big goal.- Wayne Gretzky

Selanne then put the game away on the penalty shot with seconds left.

Afterwards, Gretzky praised Selanne's play and called it a fitting end.

"There's nothing negative at all about the day. It's a tremendous crowd for an alumni game. You can tell how big hockey is here, " said Gretzky during the post game conference.

"The hockey, obviously, wasn't great hockey, but it was competitive. And the game ended the way it should end — with the best player on the ice, on the home team scoring a big goal. And good for him and good for the franchise and great for the city."

Selanne seemed eager to return the compliment.

"Getting Gretzky and Messier and those guys here, the lineup for them was unbelievable," he said. "I tried to count the Stanley Cups they have in that team and I lost count at about 50 or something. It's unbelievable. And getting them here, you know, playing against us, it was really special.

He said he's eager to see the outcome of the game "that really matters" on Sunday.   

The Jets and Oilers will face off in the outdoor Heritage Classic in Winnipeg at 3 p.m. EDT.