Saturday, October 20, 2007

Blades Rough Up Sea Wolves

Not that you asked, but I enjoyed first regular season ECHL game tonight. I tried to get really into it, but the Everblades are just not my team. The Lightning will always be my team. But it was still a great game. The Blades tore through Mississippi with a 6-1 win.

I felt a little strange about it though, considering Sea Wolves goalie Morgan Cey is a Lightning prospect. He looked like crap, basically.

Anyway, I took a bunch of photos, so I'll run through a couple of them since you're here and reading this.



The Seminole Indian Tribe sponsored a bunch of blinking necklaces that were handed out as freebies when you walked in the door. It gave the arena a very interesting look during the the pre-game ceremonies.



The 2007-08 team was introduced to fans attending the opening night game. I don't really know any of them. Although I did meet captain Ernie Hartlieb and Steve Czech. They were interviewed on the television show that I work on.



Also, during the ceremony, the Everblades retired a couple of jersey numbers — the first in team history. All in all, these ceremonies honoring retired players and such lasted forever. The game was supposed to start at 7:30 PM. The puck didn't drop until after 8:30.



But when it did, it was fun to watch. I think I've been spoiled by the quality of NHL hockey in watching the Lightning over the last 15 years, but it was still entertaining hockey at Germain Arena, nonetheless.

I definitely plan on checking out more games as the season goes on. Well worth it, if you ask me. But I still miss going to Lightning games.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

My name is Chris. Lightning, Lightning, Lightning. The new Oilers jersey is Lightning Lightning. I went to a Lightning league hockey league Lightning. Lightning and Vancouver's wordmark is Lightning interesting concept. I rate it Lightning out of 5Lightning.

=P

habs111 said...

what is the capacity of the arena?

Unknown said...

Hahaha well said dan!

Chris said...

My name is Chris. Lightning, Lightning, Lightning. The new Oilers jersey is Lightning Lightning. I went to a Lightning league hockey league Lightning. Lightning and Vancouver's wordmark is Lightning interesting concept. I rate it Lightning out of 5Lightning.

=P


Dude, that's not even the half of it. I don't know who your team is, but wait until you stand in their building and watch them skate the Stanley Cup around the ice. Then you'll know what it's like. Until then....

GO LIGHTNING!!!

Unknown said...

go b's, i hope its lightning and bruins in the conference finals. that would be a sick series. so chris, how did you like ht 4-1 loss at hand of th big bad bruins?

Jeff Z. said...

I was at that game. The Bolts need Boyle back form injury and they REALLY REALLY need a solid goaltender if they want to remain contenders. Also, from a jersey perspective, I wasn't a huge fan of TB's new jerseys, but they do look good on the ice, except for those HORRIFIC socks.

sjsharks112 said...

the arena looks really small from the picture you took with the indian necklaces or whatever they were i would like to know the capacity too

sjsharks112 said...

i looked it up the capacity is 7,128....how do they make any money

anonymous said...

what happened to the freak out friday?

Unknown said...

yeah i wanna see what strange concepts you have today.

habs111 said...

"i looked it up the capacity is 7,128....how do they make any money"


what do you mean why wouldn't they make money?
whats wrong with 7000 fans?

Chris said...

"i looked it up the capacity is 7,128....how do they make any money"

what do you mean why wouldn't they make money?
whats wrong with 7000 fans?


Speaking of which, the Everblades, I've learned, typically have the highest average attendance in the league. And, you know, it is ECHL. That's a big number when you think in those terms.

As an NHL fan, I'm used to 20,000 people in the building, but towns in this league are much smaller resulting in fewer seats in the arena. I'm pretty sure they make a lot of money from ads though. Ever seen the ice at a minor league game? Or the jerseys?

Jason said...

Looks like fun and I'm glad you had a good time, but no mention of the logos or jerseys? C'mon now, man!

Drew said...

Chris,

As a Hurricanes fan, I would like to thank you for supporting our ECHL team. ;)

Dude, that's not even the half of it. I don't know who your team is, but wait until you stand in their building and watch them skate the Stanley Cup around the ice. Then you'll know what it's like. Until then....

I definitely understand this sentiment.