Zanc Goes Back in Time

An athlete's wish, later in life, for a chance to replay a pivotal high school game—or event--has been the theme for a number of recent movies, including "The Best of Times" (Robin Williams/Kurt Russell, 1986). For former BU standout and co-captain Brad Zancanaro (photo, #12), the wish became reality thanks to the Gatorade-sponsored REPLAY The Series, which airs on various Fox Sports outlets.

A 1999 game between Zanc’s Trenton, (Mich.) High School and arch-rival Catholic Central was suspended late in the third period, after Trenton rallied to tie it at four, when a skate slit a Trenton Trojan player’s jugular vein, nearly fatally (details) .

Eleven years later, Replay and Gatorade chose that unfinished game to be the focus of its second season. And Zancanaro, now retired from professional hockey, along with his twin brother Tony, a former Providence College star, and their teammates were afforded the opportunity to turn back the clock and match up with CC again. The opposing club featured several players who had gone on to college careers, including Yale goalie Matt Modelski.

Several cable airings of the program are scheduled for the Fox outlets during the next few days. You also can watch videos of various segments online. From the Season 2 page, under Watch the Action, choose TV shows.

A 90-point scorer in four BU seasons, Zancanaro also is in the Terrier record book for tallying the last goal in BU’s final game at Walter Brown Arena. The next night, when BU inaugurated Harry Agganis Arena, Zancanaro scored the first goal.


We spoke with Zancanaro about his turn-back-the-clock experience with his high school teammates, which Trenton won, 4-2, with Brad—not-so-surprisingly, scoring his team’s first and last goals.

Q. What was your reaction when you heard about the possibility of replaying the game?
A. The kid who put the application in emailed me to see if i would be interested. At first I wasn't too excited about it because I thought it might be kind of cheesy...but he had me go to the Web site and watch the previous year's show. The first season turned out really well, so I figure it could be fun, and all the guys from the team that year were pretty excited about it. More...