Tonight was Military Night at the game. All the branches of the Armed Forces had tables setup around the arena to give away trinkets, but also boost recruiting. I only mention this because, after I went upstairs to the balcony to get a picture of the Navy Band (which only played before the warmups and then disappeared), as I came down the stairs, I, well, missed the last step and wound up falling to the floor and almost wiping-out an Air Force table. Screwed-up my right ankle pretty bad - the same one I screwed-up a few years ago when I fell at the O'Hare Metra station before a Wolves game (long story there). So, anyway, I watched the game in pain...
This was playoff-style hockey tonight. The Griffins have been slipping lately (we're in 3rd behind them - Milwaukee is in 1st). We beat them last night in Michigan, so things were a bit tense on the ice.
Saw something that I've never seen before in a hockey game. Stephen Baby shoots the puck high into the Griffins net, drops down and bounces off the left post. The goal judge (Bob Lilla) lights the light, Fireworks go off, siren sounds, crowd goes nuts (13,327, BTW)... but the ref waves it off and allows play to go on for another 30 seconds until the play is whistled dead (i can't remember why.. offside maybe?). The ref goes off to confer with the goal judge and allows the goal! Now, the fans are confused and the Griffins players go nuts with three of them charging the glass in front of the goal judge, screaming their heads off.
The play was pretty intense all throughout the game. Yes, it had the feel of playoffs. And now, with the win, we're only 2 points behind the Griffins with 4 more games to go.
Carol & I stayed a little while after the game to see something the Wolves do every once in a while - open up the ice for an hour of open skating (you have to bring your own skates). It takes way too long to get everything going (Zamboni the ice, get everyone to sign waivers, etc) and - as a spectator - a bit boring. But we watched a little and finally left.
I wasn't feeling too excited about this team's chances this year - until today's game. If they could just keep their focus and play a full 60 minutes...
(Boxscore - Gamesheet)
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