One Hundred Years of Hockey

The NHL is celebrating its centennial and as part of the festivities a traveling exhibit arrived at the Pepsi Center this weekend. It sounded interesting, so I picked up Marina after school and we decided to check it out.

We arrived at the Pepsi Center and walked over to the tented area where everything was set up. Right away we met some of the Avalanche Ice Dancers. Marina happily posed for photos with them and got their autographs.

I really wanted to see the Stanley Cup, which was on display. The line was pretty short, so we didn’t have long to wait. Marina looked at the engraving from the Avalanche 2001 win before we had our pictures taken with it.

We went through the small museum they had in a trailer next. We got to see the evolution of hockey equipment like jerseys, sticks and ice skates. There was also an interactive screen which allowed us to look closely at the Stanley Cup. Marina also posed for a photo in front of a mock Avalanche locker. They actually were able to put her name above her! Finally, she signed a large plaque which will be given to the team after the exhibition is over.

I knew Marina would want to try the virtual reality Zamboni game, so we went there and waited in line. As it turned out, the man in front of us was the Avalanche TV announcer Mike Haynes. He was very nice and we talked to him and his son while we waited. As expected, Marina enjoyed the game!

Marina also played a game using a hockey stick to hit balls into a goal. Next we checked out the radio station booths which were set up there. Marina got some goodies, including a foam hockey puck and a soda cozy. She won a Taylor Swift calendar and even got to meet one of the DJs she listens to. She also got her hair sprayed red with lots of glitter.

We didn’t want to wait in the huge line to meet the players that were there and Marina didn’t want to try the ice skating, so we decided to go home. The trip home took a while but we both agreed it was a fun time.