We got to the game over a half an hour late - and we walk in to hear Wayne Messmer just doing the National Anthem - it turns out DePaul's basketball game ended later than it normally did, pushing everything out in time.

I really can't tell you what happened during the game because I can't explain the play. The team didn't really appear to be all that different, but apparently it was. They weren't quicker, they were just getting to the puck better, they were passing better, they were shooting better. How else can you explain this losing team's 8-0 shutown win? We scored on both of their goalies like we knew what we were doing. In the meantime, the Barons were barely taking shots all game. It was a pretty clean game, too. Felt like it went fast because of the lack of penalties.

HUGE crowd - 16,607 fans - the 10th largest crowd in franchise history. Has to be because of Group Sales.

(Boxscore - Gamesheet)

WAIT... the strangeness doesn't end there...

During the First Intermission we had a wedding on the ice. Vladimir Len, or Vlad, is an off-ice official that sits in the box below us, usually as the Penalty Timekeeper. He's marrying a fan that sits over to the left of the visitor Penalty Box, Holly. The team even had a press release about them, and it was shown on the scoreboard and broadcast as part of the game over Comcast cable.

You know - I couldn't do this. I could get married at Comiskey, but I couldn't get married at a hockey game.

Wedding Bells to Ring at Wolves Game on Feb. 25

02/13/2006

The Chicago Wolves will host an on-ice wedding during the first intermission when the team battles the Cleveland Barons at the Allstate Arena on Sat., Feb. 25, at 7 p.m.

Holly Braun, a Wolves season-ticket holder since 2001, will marry Vladimir Len, an American Hockey League off-ice official and former team season-ticket holder, in the eight-minute ceremony. Wolves season-ticket holder “Tattoo” Ron Gac (GACK), an ordained minister and tattoo artist, will make the bond official.

The Wolves will provide the newlyweds with flowers and a wedding cake, courtesy of Jewel-Osco, and a night’s stay in the Presidential Suite at the Wyndham Hotel in Rosemont.

Braun and Len – a Chicago native – met at the 1999 International Hockey League All-Star Game in Cincinnati and have been attending Wolves games together for five seasons.

The Wolves game – along with all regular-season and playoff contests – and ceremony will be televised live in the Chicago area on Comcast Cable. Log on chicagowolves.com for the channel designation in your area.

For more information or tickets to the game, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.