An Avalanche of Fun

The school district sponsored a night at the Colorado Avalanche game this evening. We had the opportunity to get tickets for the game at a reduced price - our seats were located on the lower level, which I was very excited about.

As part of the special school package, we got the chance to arrive early and spend some time on the ice of the arena. I thought it would be fun, so we arrived at Pepsi Center early. I was surprised at how few people showed up for this. It was amazing to be out on the ice in the empty arena. We got to see the Avalanche bench, the visitor's penalty box and center ice. They had balls and sticks out for the kids to play broom ball. Marina met a new friend and they happily played together.

Once our time on the ice was done, we ate dinner before going back for the game. We arrived very early, so we were in our seats before anyone else. When the teams came out to warm up, we went down by the glass to watch. Marina was amazed by the speed the puck hit the boards and glass. While we watched, some of the St. Louis players tossed pucks over the glass to the kids who were watching. One bounced in the area next to us and fell into a camera well. One of the TV crew members fished it out and gave it to Marina. She was thrilled. After that she showed the puck to everyone she talked to.

I had been concerned that she'd be bored during the game itself, but she seemed to have a great time. She actually followed the action for most of the game. I'm sure it helped that we had some snacks and met the mascot, Bernie, while we were there. She only lost interest in the last five minutes of the third period. but she still managed to cheer loudly with the crowd. And our wonderful evening was topped off with an Avalanche win 3-2.

We came out of the arena to 2-3 inches of snow, so it took us a while to get home. Marina fell asleep in the car. Not surprising at all considering all we'd done today!