Hockey Pucks, Jersey Devils and Flamingos

Eric and I went to the Devils game last week. This was my first hockey game and I couldn't be more excited.  The drive from my house to the Prudential Center was super quick and after finding the parking garage, I got even more excited. Seeing all the fans in their jerseys and devil's attire, made me even more ready for the game.

Our first stop was a mini photo op at the statute in front of the Prudential Center. I brought along Penelope for her first hockey game experience as well. A nice employee offered to take our photo and laughed when I pulled out Penelope!

I knew we had to go through security and I hoped the security guard had a sense of humor seeing Penelope in my bag. He didn't but he didn't seem to care either. Our first stop was the team shop to find Eric a Devil's Tee-shirt. The team shop was packed with fans and a ton of Devils merchandise. It was fun to see all the different jerseys and tee shirts. Penelope liked the hockey puck hats the best.

We found a step and repeat and I couldn't pass up a photo opportunity with Eric.

The Prudential Center is  HUGE. There were so many food options, merchandise options and just hockey related fun. We were there early so we decided to take in the sights and sounds before finding our seats. It was awesome to see just a sea of red shirts in front of you. There were a couple of Ford cars parked in the concourse by our section and they were offering free photos. We took full advantage of the free photo and we even got a hockey puck key chain!

We found our seats and I couldn't believe how close they were to the ice. The teams were practicing before the game and it was an awesome sight to see. I knew a little about hockey and Eric was happy to answer any questions I had. These questions were but not limited to "why are there so many people on the ice right now?" "What happened?" "Are there going to be any fights tonight?" "Tutti Frutti (TooToo ) is number 22 How funny!" and  " How many quarters are there in a Hockey Match?"

Penelope had a lot of fun at the game as well. I should include her too!

 

The fans around us were awesome. They were really into the game and it was nice to be part of something that brings everyone together. We cheered, high-fived and awwed for all of the action.

This game was super exciting, not only being my first hockey game, there were THREE fights (!!!) on the ice (I asked Eric earlier about this and he said the Devil's rarely fight), it was tied so it went into overtime and then we WON! The stadium was filled with so much excitement you could actually feel it. Once the Devil's scored the winning goal, we jumped up and down, high fived everyone and then RAN out of our seats to avoid every other fan doing the same thing. We rode the escalator down and we saw the employees clapping and cheering- it was cool to see everyone thrilled that they won. After we got off the escalator, I turned around to see the sea of Devil's Jerseys coming down the escalator and it was an exciting sight to see.

My first hockey game was a success. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect but this was a unexpected surprise. We had such a great time and I can't wait to go back. Eric did have to warn me, hockey is not always this exciting, this high scoring nor this filled with fights.

Are you a hockey fan? Did you see this game on TV? Let me know!

PS. I couldn't finish this post without adding the following photo:

 (Photo Credit: Eric F.)

This photo made me laugh so hard for so many reasons and I will explain- We were waiting to get back to our seats and I saw an empty chair with a perfect view of the ice. I wanted to get a photo of Penelope watching the game so I just walked over set Penelope down and started to take her photo. I didn't realize Eric was watching me and everyone else around me was looking at me like a crazy person.All I could do was laugh after Eric showed this to me. Why was I so serious? Why did everyone look at me like I was crazy? What were those people around me thinking? I guess someone is always watching you,  even when you are not aware. The crazy things I do for a perfect photo for my blog.