Saturday afternoon I could sense that the whole family was starting to exhibit all of the tell-tale signs that indicate the sudden onset of a severe case of mid-winter cabin fever. It was cold, cloudy, and trying to snow again, the kids were already holed up in their rooms glued to PC games, the Hunny Bunny had taken off to go thrift store scrounging, and the dog was snoring under the coffee table while I was trying my best to relieve my painful end-of-football-season withdrawal symptoms by watching some time-shifted Heineken Cup Rugby matches on the DVR. Basically we were all bored silly and were not being very successful in fighting it off using the same old tried and true resources at hand. The situation was dire. Something must be done or we would all be faced with yet another pizza and a movie night, huddled together in a zombie-like state by the warm glow of the TV set in the family room.
So I decided it might be time to try something new. I bundled up and headed off to the new Broomfield Events Center (BEC) about 10 minutes north of where we live, where I purchased 5 tickets for Saturday evening's hockey game between the host Rocky Mountain Rage and the visiting Colorado Eagles (all the way down from Ft. Collins - maybe 50 miles). For those of you that may be unfamiliar with those teams, they are members of the Central Hockey League (CHL), which is pro hockey's equivalent to the double-A minor leagues. The BEC holds about 6,000 for hockey so there really aren't any bad seats in the house (the club level suites are actually further from the ice than the "nosebleed" seats behind each goal), and tickets for the entire family to sit within 15 rows of the ice cost less than $100 (or roughly the price of a single seat in a similar location for the Colorado Avalanche).
The Rage and the Eagles are apparently somewhat bitter rivals (who knew?). I suppose this makes sense given the fact that they are not only the top two teams in the CHL's Northwest Division, but are also both competing for essentially the same Northern Colorado fan base (and dollars). As a result, the BEC was filled to capacity with fans of both teams and the pre-game atmosphere was charged. It was every bit as noisy as a much larger arena as well. This was partially due to the fact that it was "Cowbell Night" ("I need more cowbell"), and everyone that entered the arena was given one of the obnoxious little noise makers, but I also think that your average AA-circuit minor league hockey fan might just be a little less, shall we say "inhibited," than are their NHL counterparts to begin with. At any rate, the place was rockin'.
Life in professional hockey's "bus leagues" is probably something less than glamorous, but you definitely can't accuse these guys of not playing hard, and the competition was fierce from the second the puck was dropped. Just check out some of these stats: 6 goals (plus one that was disallowed after review), 46 minutes in penalties, 3 fights, and one exploding piece of glass behind the Rage goal. And that was just the first period (well, actually, the glass got broken in the pre-game warmups). There were two goals scored in the first 31 seconds of the game! The goalies finally got their acts together in the second period, but the rest of the game was no less action-packed. The Rage went on to win 5 - 4 in overtime after trailing by two goals entering the third period. The win moved the Rage into first place overall in the CHL, one point ahead of the Northeast Division leading Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (now there's a team name you won't hear outside of Louisiana). Don't ask me how a division that consists primarily of teams from Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi can be considered as "Northeast" though (Northeast of what? Laredo?).
Anyway, the whole family had a rockin' good time. It was the Hunny Bunny's first hockey game and she really got into it (I think she liked her cowbell the most though), the teenager liked the action and the predominantly metal music, the little dudes loved all the big hits, and the dad enjoyed the game, the bargain, and the smiles on the faces of his happy family. We all agreed that it would be fun to do it again sometime, although I might find it a difficult to get behind a team that uses such an abstract noun for a team name ("Here we go Ra-age!" just does not roll off the tongue). Nor does it help any that they have a mascot that looks like he/she/it might be related to the Hanson Brothers from Slap Shot (see below - Note: the Rage actually do have a Jeff Hansen on their roster, but he is of no relation).
Is "Rowdy" a Hanson?
I don't think I will have any problem becoming a fan of minor league hockey in general however. These players may be a step or two slower than the big leaguers, and they may not be as nifty when it comes to handling the puck, but lacking any players named Sakic, Crosby, or Forsberg on the ice with them, I certainly couldn't tell the difference. I can tell you one thing for sure though; they were not holding back when it came to checking - they were positively knocking the doggie-doo out of each other. But the best part is probably the fact that these guys aren't really playing for much more than love of their sport - sure they are getting paid, but face it, the dream of ever earning NHL big bucks is probably long over for the vast majority these 28-30 year old athletes who are two levels of play removed from the "big show."
Despite their lack of big-time skills, they put on a good show and truly do give it a quality effort. Absolutely worth the price of admission. IMHO this CHL game was every bit as exciting as anything I've ever experienced with the big league version (short of Av's v. Red Wings Stanley Cup action anyway). It certainly provided a far better bang for my entertainment buck (especially when you consider the fact that beer prices are slashed to 2 bucks for 10 minutes following each Rage goal). I like the NHL too, but I'm afraid it's going to be a pretty hard sell to get me to pony up the price to go to any future Av's games. Unless it's a playoff game, I think I'll just save my $400 and watch them on the tube. When I get the urge to see some live hockey action I'll take the whole family out to see the Rage at roughly 1/4th the cost, and enjoy a few $2 beers (barring a home team shutout - God forbid) while sitting in great seats at an arena that is 30 minutes closer to home and offers free covered parking as part of the ticket price. Plus no traffic, no long walks, no lines for concessions or restrooms...
No brainer, eh?
Old Time Hockey