Ah, the stars aligned this year. I was up and ready. Reception was decent on an otherwise iffy
station. Weather conditions at the site
of the game at the Cotton Bowl in
Dallas were good. I was going to get to
see some hockey to start the New Year.
It was overcast in the Metroplex and about 50 degrees, but
no precipitation. Sun and rain had
spoiled some previous Winter Classics for me.
It was reported that the whole hockey setup had been virtually destroyed
by a massive rainstorm recently, but had been reconstructed. From the pregame, Dallas was going all out. They had a virtual state fair set up outside
the stadium, including a large Ferris wheel.
Dallas also turned out for the game.
85,000 were there. There was a
large section wearing yellow in the stadium.
The Predator fans had travelled for the game.
A horse troop led out the players out to the rink. Members of the First Cavalry were the honor guard.
A country singer from a singing completion show did the Anthem with a
distinctive twang. Every time he sang
the word, “Star,” the crowd would shout it out.
I’m guessing that’s tradition at Stars’ games.
Dad came over to watch.
He’s not a hockey fan, but was willing to come over to hangout and for
lunch. I hopped over to McAlisters next door for
sandwiches. I’m surprised by how many
places are open on New Years. (The
sandwiches were great, but messy.
Toppings kept falling out on my floor.)
Dad had gotten me a hockey yearbook magazine for Christmas. I’d read up on the teams last night. They scouted as good teams with good centers
and goalies. In actual play this season,
Dallas was okay, but Nashville was on a losing streak.
First Period
Right out of the box, the game started with two massive
hits on the same play. The teams had
some bad blood carrying over from last season’s playoffs and their previous
meeting this season. One of the hits was
a cheap shot that leveled Predator, Ryan
Ellis. He had to come out of the
game. As tough as hockey players are
(and as much as they probably love playing in this outdoor game), you know that
he had to be really hurt. The offending
player, Corey Perry, was ejected
from the game. Only a couple of minutes
had gone off on the clock and his day was over.
Worse, Perry had to make a long walk across the field by himself to go
to the locker room. He’d have to watch
the game on TV like the rest of us.
Worse for the Stars, it was a five-minute major. Broadcaster Mike Emrick explained that meant that the Predators were on a power
play for five minutes and that a goal didn’t end it. Yikes!
It got worse. The Stars incurred
another penalty for firing the puck out of play, so it was five-on-three. According to the yearbook, the Predators were
31-st in the league in converting on power plays last year, out of 31
teams. Today, they converted twice for a
2-0 lead before the penalties ended. Matt Duchene and Dante Fabbro were the scoring players.
Stars player, Denis
Gurianov was tripped on a breakaway in front of the Nashville goal. This resulted in a penalty shot, instead of
just a penalty. We’re learning all sorts
of hockey rules today. However, the shot
was blocked. During the first break,
there was a piglet race in a racetack/pen on field. It was majestic. There was another massive hit. This one caused a fight that resulted in dual
minors and a four-on-four. Perhaps the
pivotal play in the game came late. Stars
goalie, Ben Bishop, stopped a point
blank shot and a couple more at the horn.
This kept the score at 2-0 Predators.
Second Period
Some band performed during the first intermission, but I
flipped over to the Michigan/Alabama
bowl game, which dad probably would have rather watched. Here it is New Year’s Day and there’s only
one bowl game on over-the-air TV. In any
case, I could have told dad who was going to win this game before it started,
but Michigan did have a slim lead at halftime before inevitably losing.
The announcers laughed at a mini-commercial during a pause
in play. A US Women’s Hockey member
trash-talked an NHL player. There was a
sequel to that commercial later on.
Predator goalie Pekka Rinne
stopped a wraparound shot and then caught a popup on a stop. Several players later got involved in an
altercation that resulted in a Predator power play. Upon expiration of the penalty, the offending
player, Tyler Seguin, came right out
of the box and took a shot. The Stars
got a follow up on it and that got the huge crowd roaring.
The announcers were loose and happy calling the game. Coming out of a break, they showed three of
the guys eating a giant corndog, a turkey leg, and a fried Snickers bar respectively. With his co-workers otherwise engaged, Emrick
attempted to read an ad copy, but didn’t have it in front of him and it didn’t
match the TV graphic. The guys all had a
laugh and the food was delicious.
Dallas had a power play, but the Predators actually had
the best chance at a goal in a short-handed opportunity. But right after the teams went to full
strength, the Stars got a beauty of an assist from Jason Dickinson for a goal by Blake
Comeau. 2-1 Predators. After that, a collision into the boards
actually briefly knocked out both players.
The Stars had a power play late on an out-of-bounds shot. They even pulled the goalie with two seconds
left, but didn’t score at the time.
Third Period
Dad had to leave, but he’d actually enjoyed what he
saw. This was probably hockey at its
best; rough, but skillful. He jumped a
bit seeing loose pucks around the net, which means you’re into it. He thought the Stars probably weren’t going
to come back because of the hole they’d dug in the first period. I thought they still had a chance, since the
Predators weren’t making a lot of chances for themselves after those goals.
The power play penalty from the last period carried
over. The Stars tied it on a deflection by
Mattias Janmark from a shot by John Klingberg about a minute in. Tied 2-2.
The crowd started going crazy.
The Stars got a one-on-one chance, but the shot hit the post. The Stars began peppering Rinne with
shots. As the crowd got louder, the
Predators’ coach called their timeout.
The break music in the stadium was Friends in Low Places. The
crowd howled along with it. Dallas got a
power play. On an open look, Alexander Radulov took a big wind up
and fired one at lightspeed. The goalie
had no chance. 3-2 Stars. A minute later during a scrum at the
Predators’ net, Andrej Sekera put it
in to put the Stars up 4-2.
The Predators started pressing the attack. There were some light fisticuffs. The TV direction started going to an overhead
camera shot, which was a different view on the game. With 2:30 left, Nashville pulled their goalie. Dallas ended up taking four empty net shots from
across the ice and held the puck behind the net at one point, but all those
shots missed. With five seconds left,
Bishop made a snow angel in front of the net to freeze a loose puck underneath
him.
The Stars finished it out, 4-2. The teams lined up and
shook hands. The Stars then held up
their sticks to salute the cheering crowd.
They then all got together and posed for a picture at center ice. This was a lot of fun. It was so fun, I missed a bunch of player
names during the action and had to look them up online later. No excuse.
I had the yearbook with all the player names in front of me. I don’t know how much more hockey I’ll be
able to see during the season, but I saw a good one here.
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