Day 4: Mall hockey is fun

We had a great day. The boys were pin trading outside the locker room with the players from the Quebec Typhoon.

Today's game at the mall was just exhibition, so the major pressure was off. Instead of 7000 fans we probably had 500 people watching at the rail and another 200 people on the carnival rides.

It was nearly impossible to see the whole arena without obstruction. 80% of it was fronted with net, likely so the players don't hit anyone just casually shopping.

The best view was from a bridge between the mall and amusement park area. It went overtop the rink. However you would miss the play when it went under the bridge. And the bridge physically shook when people walked by.

..... more when we return from a grocery run.

(We won 7-0)

Update:  We actually did get groceries. There's an IGA about 10 minutes from here that will sell you a salad with cheese, nuts and croutons for $3.  It's a nice alternative from restaurants and concession stands. You certainly can not eat out 3x a day for the week. Ok, and they sell beer and wine for a good price. To quote Boyechko, "beer isn't a bad price out here, as long as you don't buy it at a gas station."


Anyways, back to the game....

The arena in the mall is a sight to see. There is literally an amusement park that surrounds the arena on three sides and at two levels. There is a ferris wheel, a carousel, a 'drop of doom' and several other rides. There are blinking lights and screaming kids. It's really a quite the distraction. But if that doesn't grab the goalie's attention, there was a bright afternoon sun shining through the mall skylights and right into the eyes of the goalie. Literally. But that being said, it was SO MUCH FUN for
everyone involved.

Since we were up 4-0 into the 2nd, I grabbed Tia Slate and headed for the ferris wheel. We watched most of the 3rd period from the 2 storey amusement ride. Because we could. I mean, when else are you ever going to get the opportunity to watch a hockey game from a ferris wheel?  Naturally we took video and posted it to YouTube. With 1000s of hits here on the blog checking in, we decided to up the ante on the entertainment value for you.

Here's a great clip of the game action from on top of the bridge. 

Here's another perspective with some fun commentary. Please remember it was an exhibition game, at the mall. 

I believe the day was as much fun for the dads as is actually possible to EVER have at a shopping mall. Though the sight lines were terrible and the amusement park chaos was ever-prevelant, we played some good hockey and had fun. Photos to follow next blog post.

I used Riley's You Tube account to post the videos. He was in net for the first half of the game, and Simmer was in for the second half. They have decided to split the exhibition games this way. Riley was not in the audience taking silly videos. That's me, his mom.

Cathie