Pens v Thrashers (W 6-2)

WOW. I took a ton of photos. I actually can't believe I took this many because it didn't seem like I got that many at the time. But I couldn't decide which ones to share with you, and since Photobucket has made it relatively easy to do, I'd hook you up with a bunch of the best ones.

When we got to Pittsburgh, it was incredible to see how much work has been completed on the new arena. It's ironic, but now that we've FINALLY gotten all the signatures, it's all happening so fast! My husband (who will henceforth be known on The Show as "woodstock" - hahaha!) and I were 16 rows behind the Pens' bench. It was the closest we've ever been to the bench. I got to stand almost at the glass to snap a few shots during the Boys' warmups.

If you couldn't tell by the anniversary date, Is D’Eirinn Mé. Okay, actually my ancestors were of Ireland, but I'm extremely proud of my heritage. The Pens paid tribute to the holiday with shamrocks throughout their graphics and by playing Irish tunes like Mychael Danna's The Blood of Cu Chulain (which is also the theme song to The Boondock Saints) and Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly. They combined my two favorite things - Ireland and Penguins hockey. It was like heaven for me!

Siddo pulled off a move that, had he scored, would have been (to quote Steigy) one for the ages. When Geno scored those back-to-back goals, it was almost like none of us knew what hit us. We were like, "Did he just do that - again?!" The rest of the game was spent hoping for a hatty on St. Patty's, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Then Flower made a save that dazzled us. I immediately said, "I need to see that on the replay when we get home!" and the guy in front of us said, "I know, right?!"

I included one shot of Sidney Penguin that I took while his human counterpart was in the background so you could see the holiday attire I found for him. I will be sending the rest of my Roamer pics to Stephanie. :)

It was nice to see Colby Armstrong again, especially since he was wearing the A and (evidently) took the role of acting captain on behalf of the absent Ilya Kovalchuk. It's a shame that Kovalchuk was out - woodstock wanted to see him play, and I was disappointed that Siddo wouldn't have anyone to point at after he scored. :P

There was a lot tension between the teams practically all night, but when it reached the boiling point towards the end of the third, it was pretty intense. I wasn't sure that the officials were going to be able to separate the teams! When all was said and done, a very, VERY red-with-anger Mad Max was led away followed shortly thereafter by Eric Godard. I got a picture of Godard being led away, but I missed getting a shot of Max because the melee was still happening and I was enthralled.

It was an extremely fun experience for us. In all the games we've attended, we've never seen a penalty shot, so that was really cool. We've never seen a hat trick, either, but there's always next time! I was surprised to see just how many people left before the game was over. Our philosophy is that we pay a lot of money and travel 100 miles, so we always stay behind to watch the three stars be announced. They were Siddo, Gonch, and Geno (in order from 3 to 1).

When we got to my car, the parking lot was still a bit of a mad house, so we just kind of stood and talked. Suddenly, we heard a loud BANG!! followed by a FFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTT sound. Some poor dumb sucker two rows in front of us turned the steering wheel just a wee bit too much and hit one of the light poles. He didn't hurt the body of his car, but he popped his tire something fierce! It was completely flat in about 90 seconds. I felt so bad for him, but he had his friend there to help him out.

It was a fantastic way to celebrate eight blissfully married years. :D A sampling of my photos follows. I was thinking of making the original sized version of the one of Siddo smilin' like a butcher's dog available as a wallpaper, since I imagine that one will be pretty popular. But if there's another shot that you like, tell us in The Friends' Zone and maybe if a bunch of people want it, I'll make it available, too. Enjoy!! :)