The first Newfoundlander to play in the NHL laced up with other oldtimers on the weekend to say goodbye to the game he loved.

Alex Faulkner, 67, played before a hometown crowd of 1,200 in Bishops Falls Saturday night.

Faulkner started his career playing with legends such as Gordie Howe. He ended it at age 67, playing with a legend Guy LaFleur.

Alex Faulkner

"I've been playing hockey for 62 years – tonight's my last game," he said before the match.

"I can't accomplish now what I want to do on the ice, and therefore it's not fun anymore," Faulkner said. "And that's the competitiveness in me and you can't take that out of me."

LaFleur and his team of Montreal oldtimers stopped in Bishops Falls as part of their tour of small-town Newfoundland. Lafleur plays about 50 games a year.

Faulkner in the game

"That's where I started," he said. "I come from a small town of 2,500 people. It's nice to go around and see the people and raise as much money as we can for different charities."

Both LaFleur and Faulkner were big draws for many in the sellout crowd at the local hockey arena.

"Guy Lafleur's here. He's my idol," said fan Robert Boyd.

Another fan recalled fond memories of Faulkner's days in the National Hockey League when he played for the Detroit Red Wings.

"When he made the NHL this place went mad the night he got two goals against Toronto back in 1962 or '63," said Ron Sheppard.