During the weeks preceding my trip, I was anxious. I didn't know what my sister and I would do. We were both in the middle of classes and I was sure was going to make me stay caught up on my "homework". However, she sent me an email talking about some events she was planning. She mentioned a Michigan basketball game, a few restaurants and possibly going to Canada to a casino. However, the last item on her list read Detroit Red Wings hockey game. This was very odd to me as I knew my sister was not into Hockey. But, she knew me very well. Growing up in Blacksburg, VA I was never really given the opportunity to play Ice Hockey. Instead, I inline skated in the basement, shooting around the polls that supported the house. Most of the sports pushed to youngsters were soccer, baseball and pee wee football. Despite this, I always found a way to watch hockey games on TV and listen to them on the radio. So as you can see, I was very excited to attend my first Hockey game.
Skipping ahead to my trip, my sister took me to Niki's Pizza in Detroit. Since she had been in Detroit, this was always a place she wanted to go. I love pizza, so this was an ideal place to take me. Niki's had great reviews. From GQ Magazine to NBC News, Niki's was known as one of the top 25 best pizzas you will ever eat. Niki's did not disappoint. I remember my sister having a wonderful Greek salad and we both devoured some pizza.
Now to the game. The Red Wings were playing the Phoenix Coyotes and Wayne Gretsky was their head coach. He had recently named himself as head coach and to anybody who loves hockey, seeing Gretsky on the bench was awesome. I remember when Gretsky had joined the New York Rangers in 1996 and teamed up with Mark Messier, who was one of my favorite players growing up. I didn't know much about the Coyotes team, however the Red Wings were stacked with talent. Players such as Pavel Datsyuk, Henrick Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and goalie Dominik Hasek dominated the ice. Zetterberg even ended the night with a Hat Trick. The game was never really close, with Detroit winning 4-1. However, in my first ever hockey game I saw a hat trick, future hall of famer Wayne Gretsky and even an Octopus thrown on to the ice. This was one game I would never forget!