Hockey Depression

So the hockey playoff recently started. To me, they also ended recently too. 3 of the 4 teams I enjoyed watching and were rooting are already out. Most important to me, Buffalo lost. That already made me sad, then both the Phoenix Coyotes and Washington Capitals lost in 7 games. Boo!

All I can say is I hope you aren't a Chicago Blackhawk fan. If my track record holds, they'll be out soon enough. Then I won't know what to do.

Playoff Time

Hockey playoffs started last week! When the Sabres are in, this is one of my favorite times of the year. When they aren't, I still like it but it is very bittersweet. Luckily, the Sabres are in this year. My love for sports is really shown during this time. I actually watched parts of 4 different games today, at least 2/3 of 3 of the 4 games. None of the games were the Sabres, that is how much of a fanatic I am. I went grocery shopping during the second game, and feeling in the spirit, I grabbed some beer. Of course I grabbed the only beer that I feel is appropriate for hockey, Molson Canadian. I had two or three during the games. The others might sit in my fridge till next weekend when I have my next playoff hockey day.

A Gift of Ducks

A few weeks ago, I got a little box set from my parents. Inside was a bunch of Wintergreen Lifesaver Mints, Spaghetti-Os, Wegmans Tuna, a Bionic Commando lunch box, and some little rubber ducks. The last part was probably the coolest. These ducks are dressed as if they were hockey players. Yes, I have had them pretended they were playing games against each other.

Here is what they look like.



Cool, right?

Visiting Buffalo in November (or 'More Proof That I Need To Get My Head Examined')

Whose bright idea was this? Buffalo and Toronto in mid/late November? I did not think this all the way through when I agreed to the trip. I mean, I love my family, I do. I will be excited to see them and be home for a few days, but I would just rather see them in, how shall I put this, more 'livable' weather. I moved away from there because I don't enjoy the weather. I do like the cold (well, mostly the cool of fall) just not a fan of 6 months of snow. I really don't think it's very likely that there won't be snow while I'm up there, but I can hope.

The trip should really be a lot of fun. Aside from seeing my family, which is always a good time, my friend Jeff and I will be going to a few hockey games, one in Buffalo and one in Toronto. While in Toronto, we will be checking out the Hockey Hall of Fame. I think I should research that a bit and figure out some players in there that I would like to see.

This trip will help fulfill one of the items on my bucket list. I recently started a list of places I wanted to visit sometime in my life. It eventually transformed into a list of things I want to do sometime in my life. One of them is see a hockey game in every arena. So far I have seen the Sabres and Coyotes but will be able to cross the Leafs off the list soon enough. Only 27 more to see. The funny thing was that, even though I had always wanted to go to every arena, I was thinking for a bit that I had to plan out what teams I saw where to make sure I see every team. Took me a bit to figure out that if I am seeing a game in every stadium, I will see every team play as a home team once. Duh! Sometimes I am not the swiftest thinker, but who said hockey fans are?

Hockey Season Started!

It actually started a week or two ago but last Saturday was the first home game for the local NHL team, the Phoenix Coyotes. I was pretty excited so I picked up a pair of tickets and was planning on invited a friend who I used to work with at my last job. Sadly, prior commitments kept us from being able to go together. Thinking, 'Who would I really like to go see a hockey game with?', I send my friend Brad a text, asking if he would like to come along. He asks what time the game is and I reply 7pm on Saturday, the usual time for games. I wake up Saturday morning and remember (thanks to Facebook) that its Brad's birthday. It all seemed to work out, I could say that the ticket was a gift, if he didn't buy it, I would offer to pay for parking (which is free at the arena). I even told him that since it was his birthday, the Coyotes were giving away free t-shirts, which they were, in celebration of the first home game of the season. It ends up taking a little while longer than I thought it would to get over to the stadium. We end up parking at about 7:15pm. I keep saying, 'We probably only missed the singing of the national anthem.' While walking in, I check the score on my iPhone and notice the Columbus Blue Jackets, the visiting team, was already wining 1-0. 'Alright!', I think, 'This should be an exciting game if one of the teams already scored this early into the game.' We enter the stadium and don't get handed the advertised shirt. Excited, and not really thinking about the shirt, I lead the way to our seats and we sit down and enjoy the game.
The game was tons of fun with the Blue Jackets holding the 1-0 lead for the whole game. About the time I am expecting the final intermission to start, I notice the Coyotes pulled their goalie. 'Odd', I think, 'There must be a penalty that I didn't notice.' The Blue Jackets get the put and no whistle is blown. Must not be a penalty. I look up at the score board and notice that under where it says 'PERIOD' it has the number '3'. Walking out, wondering why it was only a 2 period game, I check the tickets. The game started at 6, not 7. Yeah, a bit bummed out about that.
At least Brad and I had a good time. (Well, I did and I think Brad did.) After that we went out and got some burgers from Red Robin. (He had a coupon for a free burger because it was his birthday) It was a really good time, always is when hanging with a good friend. The hockey didn't hurt either.

Just remember, always check the time on your ticket BEFORE the event and not just when its over.