From a previous post, you know I have always been interested in Hockey. While in college at James Madison University I had a friend that played inline hockey for the JMU club team. He also grew up in NOVA (Northern Virginia for those that do not understand the lingo). For our last guys trip while in college we purchased tickets to a CAPS game. We didn't really care what other team we saw, but ended up with tickets to the last game of the regular season. So, lets get right into it.
The CAPS were coming into the game on a six game win streak. They had struggled early in the year (I believe were even the worst team in the conference at one point), but after getting hot in the final 20 games, they had a chance to not only make the playoffs but win the division. They went 15-4-1 in their last 20 games; an uprecedented comeback if they could beat or tie the Florida Panthers. This ended up being the perfect game for us.
The crowd was electric, much louder than the Detroit game I wrote about earlier. Every single person was wearing their favorite jersey or some other Capitals memorabilla. Everybody was Rockin the Red!! The game started rather slowly with both teams going back and forth. You could tell the boys were a bit nervous with everything on the line. But then the Capitals got what they needed with a wrist shot from forward Thomas Fleischmann. It found the net to give the CAPS a 1-0 lead. They took this lead into the first intermission.
After the first period was won by the CAPS, the second began a bit shaky. The CAPS took a bad penalty when they had too many men on the ice. The momentum shifted when the Panthers scored on the powerplay, tieing the game up at 1. The game went back and forth again until later in the period when Sergei Fedorov ripped a snap shot passed the Panther goaltender. From our seats, we had the perfect angle. The goalie didn't have a chance. The CAPS had converted on the powerplay and took the one goal advantage into the third period.
The third period began with a quick penalty. The CAPS were on the powerplay again. I remember telling the guys that a goal here could put it away. The CAPS didn't dissapoint. Alexander Semin blasted another slapshot that found the back of the net. With the CAPS now up 3-1, we were feeling confident. We could smell a division championship and the right to host a first playoff match up. The LET'S GO CAPS chants were getting louder and louder. The game entered the final minutes. The CAPS had done a great job staying out of the penatly box and keeping Florida from making a comeback. They were taking short shifts and dumping the puck when they could. There was now one minute left in the period. Everybody who was sitting was now on their feet. LET's GO CAPS began again. The crowd chanted down from 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1...the CAPS had done it. They had come from the basement to win their first title in many years.
One of the main reasons for going to the game was to see the Great 8 - Alex Ovechkin. Although, he didn't score in the game, he forced the Panthers to take a few penalties and delivered some big hits. I have yet to be back, but I plan to someday. What other team/player should I take a trip to see? Any suggestions out there?
The CAPS were coming into the game on a six game win streak. They had struggled early in the year (I believe were even the worst team in the conference at one point), but after getting hot in the final 20 games, they had a chance to not only make the playoffs but win the division. They went 15-4-1 in their last 20 games; an uprecedented comeback if they could beat or tie the Florida Panthers. This ended up being the perfect game for us.
The crowd was electric, much louder than the Detroit game I wrote about earlier. Every single person was wearing their favorite jersey or some other Capitals memorabilla. Everybody was Rockin the Red!! The game started rather slowly with both teams going back and forth. You could tell the boys were a bit nervous with everything on the line. But then the Capitals got what they needed with a wrist shot from forward Thomas Fleischmann. It found the net to give the CAPS a 1-0 lead. They took this lead into the first intermission.
After the first period was won by the CAPS, the second began a bit shaky. The CAPS took a bad penalty when they had too many men on the ice. The momentum shifted when the Panthers scored on the powerplay, tieing the game up at 1. The game went back and forth again until later in the period when Sergei Fedorov ripped a snap shot passed the Panther goaltender. From our seats, we had the perfect angle. The goalie didn't have a chance. The CAPS had converted on the powerplay and took the one goal advantage into the third period.
The third period began with a quick penalty. The CAPS were on the powerplay again. I remember telling the guys that a goal here could put it away. The CAPS didn't dissapoint. Alexander Semin blasted another slapshot that found the back of the net. With the CAPS now up 3-1, we were feeling confident. We could smell a division championship and the right to host a first playoff match up. The LET'S GO CAPS chants were getting louder and louder. The game entered the final minutes. The CAPS had done a great job staying out of the penatly box and keeping Florida from making a comeback. They were taking short shifts and dumping the puck when they could. There was now one minute left in the period. Everybody who was sitting was now on their feet. LET's GO CAPS began again. The crowd chanted down from 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1...the CAPS had done it. They had come from the basement to win their first title in many years.
One of the main reasons for going to the game was to see the Great 8 - Alex Ovechkin. Although, he didn't score in the game, he forced the Panthers to take a few penalties and delivered some big hits. I have yet to be back, but I plan to someday. What other team/player should I take a trip to see? Any suggestions out there?