Our first hockey night in Canada was fun.

Would I do it again? Probably not.
At least not in the same way.

The tickets we had were luxury tickets. Our seats included a smorgasbord of all we could eat, fancy food, and service by a staff that made the catering on a cruise ship, look stingy.

We were told to arrive early — which is music to my ears, because If I’m not early – I feel like I’m late. And, don’t tell Ken, but, we really did not need to go THAT early!

We arrived at a separate entrance from the regular fans. Up the elevator to the Encore Lounge. After coat and hat checks, we were offered prime rib, roasted chicken, seafood, pizza, salads of all styles, sushi, and several different types of deserts, including chocolate covered strawberries and mango cream with something.

In the land of too much — it was too much.

Everything except booze was included in the ticket price, yet, while, I’m sure the servers were not thrilled that we didn’t drink, we were still catered to as if we owned the place. Excuse me, my linen napkin is wrinkled and I used this fork once already. 🙂

We had this beautiful lounge to hang out in. There was a cozy fire place with sofas, and leather chairs, and in the washroom, there was a big screen TV. (You wouldn’t want to miss anything!)

We filled our plates a couple of times. It was silly.
What is it with us, when fancy food is offered, and we are told to “help yourself.”

What has this to do with hockey? Nothing.

When the game started, we watched from centre seats, up high. We could see everything quite well. Of course there was the big screen for replays, and the fun of panning the fans to see how everyone cheers.

There was no kiss cam. To me, it seemed the camera focused on the children, and fans who danced, had signs, or wore costumes, and believe me – there were plenty of them.

The best part of the game for me, was watching the teams warm up. The skating was incredible and so fast. The really fun part for me, happened during commercial breaks. Twenty something young skaters cleaned the ice with choreographed precision. They were great fun to watch.

I have to say, the Canucks did not play well. The goalie of the Islanders did. The most exciting the game got was in the last two minutes, of the third period, when the Canucks tied the score, it went into overtime.

At first I was afraid that meant we would have to stay for another 20 minute period. Luckily, in hockey overtime, they leave only three players on each team and give them five minutes to do their best. At the three minute mark, New York scored and it was over.

We did have fun, we cheered — Ken even high fived a stranger! I’m glad we went. But like I said, if there ever is a next time; we would do it different.

Next time, I would go as a regular fan, not a fancy dancy one. I would sit with the crowd and have popcorn, not prime rib.

At least now this Canadian can say, “Yes, of course I’ve been to a hockey game!”

Next up – curling!