Early in his career, Biron was playing for Rochester when it faced the AHL's Phantoms there.

"It was Frank Bialowas Night," Biron recalled, referring to the former Phantoms enforcer, "and when we came out on the ice, 15,000 fans were holding Frank Bialowas masks on sticks in front of their faces. It was pretty intimidating.

"It was the first time I had played there, and there was a big crowd for the American League."

Today, in the last Spectrum game between two NHL teams, a sellout crowd will be watching the Flyers play the Carolina Hurricanes in a 1 p.m. exhibition.

Before the game, 11 of the Flyers' 15 former captains will be honored.

The Spectrum was the site of many fabled Flyers moments, including their first Stanley Cup championship in 1974, their 4-1 win over the Soviet Red Army in 1976, and their 35-game unbeaten streak - a record for all sports - in 1979-80.

"It's going to be a rocking atmosphere," left winger Scott Hartnell said after yesterday's practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. "You hear stories about what went on there and the history of the building . . . and the brawls between teams.

"It's kind of sad it's coming down, but I'm glad to be a part of the last games."

The Flyers will also play an exhibition against the Phantoms there on Oct. 7. About 2,000 tickets remained.

Biron said he was a Quebec fan as a youngster, and remembers watching NHL games at the Spectrum on TV and sensing the atmosphere.

Then he found out firsthand.

"When you walk in the building, you see all the banners hanging, and it feels like this historical building," he said. "There's nothing fancy about the building, but everything is well-done."

"The first time I was there, I couldn't believe the top level was so little and hardly had any seats," he said. "It was just part of what made it" unique.

The Spectrum is much more intimate than the Wachovia Center.

"From what I hear, the atmosphere is great there and the fans are much closer to the ice," defenseman Kimmo Timonen said.

Left winger Simon Gagne, recovering from a concussion that limited him to 25 games last year, will make his preseason debut today, and was excited to play in The House That Clarke Built.

"I've heard a lot of great stories from back then, and it'll be great for the fans to see a preseason game before they put the building down," said Gagne, who has never played at the Spectrum.

"A lot of great players played there, and they won Stanley Cups," he said "There's a lot of tradition there."

Today's matchup "won't feel like a preseason game; it'll feel like a real game," Gagne added. Coach John Stevens agreed.

"This game has a lot of meaning and a lot of motivation for what's surrounding that game," Stevens said. "There's going to be a big crowd, and I think that's only going to add to the atmosphere.

"The guys are revved up, and if we could dress 30 guys, we would because there's an awful lot of guys who are anxious to play in that game."