Boston area hockey fans got the chance to watch National Hockey League veterans and legends in a rare alumni game yesterday when the Boston Bruins Alumni team played a United States team of past NHL stars at the Bright Hockey Center at Harvard University.

The game, one of two back-to-back contests in the Boston Bruins Foundation’s second annual Friendship Cup, pitted former Bruins Terry O’Reilly, Ted Donato, Bill O’Dwyer and Bob Sweeny against past NHL stars, including Mark Messier, Chris O’Sullivan and Mark LaForest.

“We’re here to see all of the past players,” lifelong Bruins fan and Melrose native Derek Palumbo said at the game. “[My son and I] stopped by to see the guys I watched growing up.”

The Bruins Alumni team skated away with an 11-7 win over the U.S. team.

Retired NHL player and referee John Stewart, now the Boston Bruins Foundation’s Director of Development, said he brought the Friendship Cup, which raises money for charities, to Harvard University in 2005.

For many players, last night’s game was a chance to reunite with former teammates and rivals in a friendly contest.

“I’m lucky to even be here,” former NHL goaltender Mark LaForest said. “I’ve either played with these guys, or they have scored on me. “Some of them got to score on me again tonight. At least it’s for a good cause, and we get to skate with each other again.”

“I played with a couple of these guys and coached a number of them,” former Bruins right-winger Terry O’Reilly said. “It’s fun to get on the ice with them again.”

O’Reilly and company are set to lace up again tomorrow at 7 p.m. as the Bruins take on the Russian national team at Agganis Arena after the U.S. team faces off the Canadian team at 5:30 p.m.

After the Bruins Alumni game last night, a Russian national team that included former Russian Olympians and NHL veterans Igor Larionov and Sergei Starikov played a team of former Canadian NHL players. Russian oil company Gazprom Export sponsored the second game as part of its second annual “Good Will” Tour aimed at promoting modern energy sources.

“We sponsor a number of [charity] events, including the Alumni Golf Tournament and a series of wine tastings around the area,” Stewart said. “Gazprom [Export’s] tour gave us the opportunity to develop another.”