It's Hockey Night

We started and ended our weekend with two great Amerk's hockey games.

Friday Night - Rochester
The game was a little sticky in that it seemed like Amerks' had a hard time getting their game together. Thankfully it all worked out and we won 5-3 against the Albany River Rats. A heckler sat behind us and kept yelling at #42 David Cullen because he had made some dumb mistakes. He redeemed himself a little by scoring a goal later on. Goalie Ryan Miller did some incredible dance moves when blocking shots. May I say pretty-fucking-amazing moves? I think so.

Sunday Night - Buffalo
Before a crowd of over 15-thousand people, we saw a record-breaking 2-0 shut-out on blue ice. That's pretty great, but what made it awesome for my dad and I was that we got to see #8 Rory Fitzpatrick score a short-handed goal (that's a goal made when your team is down a man on a power play). Lots of cheering and yelling. It was a much tighter game than Friday night. You would think that playing several games in a row would have worn the team out, but they were in good form. I think playing before a larger-than-usual crowd helps too.

The Verdict on the Blue Ice
In the stands, it wasn't that noticable. In fact, after the players started skating it was all "white" anyway. The one thing that needs to change is those darn orange face off areas. The orange line that replaced the "blue line" works fine, but after players have made the go around the rink several times, the lines delianating the face off areas gets a little blurry. We did look at the jumbotron to see how the colors translated to tv, and it wasn't too distracting. I think we can expect more blue ice and funky colored "blue" lines if the NHL ever has a season again. If.

From the player's point of view it was a little more distracting. Here's a short list of stories:

Democrat & Chronicle: Blue ice, orange lines didn't faze Amerks players
Sports Illustrated: Blue Ice Makes It Debut in HSBC Arena
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Amerks' Mastery of Barons Continue