I arrived at the United Center just before 4pm for the cheesy Red Carpet Entrance thingy. At least this year they had a bonafide reason for the grand entrance. I actually shelled out $25 to park near Gate 6. Usually I park off of Ashland, but I wanted to make sure my car was close so my mom wouldn't have to walk far afterward. I managed to snag a spot against the ropes right near where the limos would be dropping the players off. It was a sweet spot except for the security guard partially blocking my view of the drop off point. Ack. The whole deal lasted about a half hour - I endured my foot falling asleep, a kid practically sitting on said foot and sweating a bunch jockeying to get into position to get good photos. I was pretty pleased with the shots I did take. This one is probably my best.
TOEWS-FACE OF THE GAME
They opened the doors early at the UC, at 5:30, whereupon I got my swag - a mini banner and two keychains that light up red when you press on them. I guess we were supposed to shine those during the banner raising, but no one really did. My dad dropped off my mom and I met her inside. It's funny - when I was telling her where to get dropped off she kept thinking she should get let off on Warren Blvd. Poor mom - had the Stadium still been here, she would have been right.
We settled in our seats - first row of Section 315. As we sat there - they showed clips from the red carpet. Since I was near where the official press was, I got on the jumbotron a bunch. As you can see above, I looked glamorous :P I usually go downstairs for warmups but I wanted to keep my mom company and I figured I would never have the opportunity to take such good photos from the 300 level again. I guess it was a good thing as the 100 level looked like a madhouse and I doubt my photos would have turned out that well. After they did the post warmup resurfacing of the ice, the banner raising ceremony began.
I thought the whole ceremony was quite well done. I have a couple choppy videos of it I'll put up on here if I can figure out how to get them off my phone. The video montage they did with images projected on the ice was breathtaking. They announced all of the front office, support staff, coaches and players as they came out onto the ice. Gary Bettman got a loud chorus of boos (heh) while Rocky Wirtz and Coach Q got the best reception for a non-player. Poor Brian Campbell could barely hobble on with his bum knee - bless his heart, he toughed it out. Jonathan Toews was the last to be announced - he came out with Lord Stanley's Cup as I wished he had in June. Five members of the 1961 Stanley Cup Winning team came out to the ice with the 2010 banner - Pierre Pilote, Ab McDonald, Eric Nesterenko, Stan Mikita & Bobby Hull. The members of the 2010 team skated out to them to take ownership of their banner. It was a truly touching scene. As the 2010 Blackhawks skated across the ice with their banner, I'm not ashamed to say I cried. It really was beautiful. The banner was slowly raised to the rafters. It was all so surreal - I still can't actually believe I witnessed it in person. A big shout out to the Blackhawks organization - it was an excellent ceremony and one that will be remembered.
Oh yeah, a game was played wasn't it? I'm not really going to say too much about it as I'd like to remember all of the good times I had last evening. I'll say this - the Blackhawks played sloppy again. Losing Sharp surely didn't help and most of the lines are still playing like they just got thrown together three seconds prior. It's just going to take some time for the guys to work the kinks out - I think once they get the first win of the season under their belt, things will start to fall into place. I'm patient. For now. Anyway, onto the awards:
The Han Solo Award (Best Overall Performance)
Bryan Bickell
Pickle (hee) scored the second goal of the evening, which at the time, tied the game. He currently leads all Hawks with two goals. You're on pace for 82 - Richard Trophy baby! All kidding aside, I'm liking Bickell's physical presence on the ice and his recent scoring touch is a bonus. I'm expecting a good year from this kid.
The Wedge Antilles Award (Unsung Hero)
Jack Skille
Jack didn't show up on the scoresheet, but seemed to be everywhere on the ice. If he wasn't hitting someone, he created scoring opportunities, and had 4 SOGs. Let's hope this is the beginning of Skills finally living up to all of the hype.
The Jar-Jar Binks Award (Most Annoying/Asinine Person Or Object)
John Scott
His face plant with his stick ending up halfway across the ice would have been hilarious had it not led to the winning score. I guess the blue line stuck its foot out and tripped him. Scott looked painfully slow out there tonight, and pairing him with Nick Leddy (who did much better, thank you) was enough to cause heart palpitations. If he's not going out there to beat the shit out of someone, what's the point? I don't know what Jordan Hendry did to get in Coach Q's doghouse, but he better be out there vs. Buffalo instead. At least the man can skate well enough.
The Darth Vader Award (Evil Beyond All Words)
The Detroit Red Wings
First the Winter Classic and now this? Thanks for ruining a perfect evening. THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!
TOEWS-FACE OF THE GAME
Well this was a easy choice wasn't it?
Onto Buffalo!
P.S. You can see all of my photos from the evening on Flickr.
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