The NHL Girl

My first live NHL game was an Avalanche Red Wings tilt at the Pepsi Center in Denver. I was a gangly fourteen-year-old with braces and high waters. My family could only afford individual tickets in the nose bleeds. My Dad helped me find my section before leaving for his seat. I had seen tons of hockey, but never like this.

I was sitting between some drunk college guys and two women brave enough to don Wings Jerseys. The Guys kept shouting things like, “Go back to Russia you Commies!” Some other drunk fans poured beer on the Red Wing’s fans when the Wing’s took the lead. I loved the intensity. In the third period I remember the electric atmosphere when Patrick Roy skated to center ice to fight Dominik Hasek. It was history.

The rivalry between the Avalanche and the Red Wings is epic—no doubt about it. Round two is going to Rock! Adrian Dater, an Avalanche beat writer with the Denver Post since the beginning of the franchise, describes the anticipated round two as, “a renewal of one of the league’s most notorious playoff rivalries — or rivalries, period — in the past 20 years.” Dater is also the author of the book, Blood Fued. If you love hockey you must read this chronicle of the Wings Avs bitter rivalry. I couldn’t put it down, and I have to confess that I was a little misty eyed by the end of the book–just the thought of the rivalry being over. The good news is that the old rivalry is about to be defibrillated to life with this Western Conference semi final.

The rivalry that started when Avalanche Claude Limieux re-arranged the face of Red Wing Kris Draper will be re-kindled because:

• The Avalanche still has Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, and Adam Foote.
• The Wings still have Daren McCarty, Kris Draper, and Niklas Lidstrom.
• Last time these teams met in the regular season Ian Laperriere contributed to a hit that had Wings’ Captain Nicklas Lidstrom out for several games with a sprained knee. The Wings want revenge.
• The Avs want revenge for their embarrassing 7-0 loss to the Wings in their last post-season match up.
• The Denver media and the Detroit media have a history of hating each other in this series. (Note the Detroit Free Press’s reaction to a Rocky Mountain News opinion piece from 4.23.08 )

One thing is for certain: I will be cutting out of my Rhetoric class early on Thursday night to catch the game on TV!