The team breakfast was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. The itinerary supplied by Dan indicated the bus would leave for the arena at 8:30 a.m. Maddy knocked on our door at 8:25 to see why we missed the breakfast. Well, because we were still sleeping! Turned out the electrical outlet the alarm clock was using had an intermittent power supply problem.
Ready to go in 5 minutes, Jess was not the last one to board the bus - heavily teased, but not the last.
The tough and physical game against Pittsburgh didn't go our way. But we were in it the whole time. The players were caught off guard in the opening minutes: USA Hockey has not yet implemented the interference/hooking/holding rule changes. The players easily adjusted to the different style of the same game. Pittsburgh was a sharp team.
At "The Zoo", I held the door for Ed, who works the penalty box for Mercyhurst's women's hockey team. The women's team at Mercyhurst College is ranked #1 in the U.S. I learned a lot about Mercyhurst from Ed.
Ten hours off and we headed to the arena for game 2. This, against a team we play back home. Once again, we travelled great distance and played a team from next door. On the way to the arena, the players were complaining that their fans (us) are too quiet.
Never one to back away from a challenge, I promised to make a lot of noise in the stands. Before the game, I practiced with some thunder sticks. I sat behind the bench and pounded the glass, stomped my feet, whistled and carried on like a true fanatic. The other team's fans were frightened for my mental health. That one teen looked like he was frightened for his safety. Sure, they were pointing and laughing, but I wasn't letting it hold me back. (Think this was the first time somebody pointed and stared at me?)
There was no way the players would say we were too quiet. Lots of cheering, whistling, clapping, chanting. The metal floor and the bowl-style seating contributed a great echo effect. Oh yeah, the 12 of us were making quite a racket. Coach Mark subtly asked me to move from my seat immediately behind the players' bench. I had my choice of 9,976 other seats to make noise. I couldn't actually see the game from that spot, anyway.
We made some adjustments in the cheering section when the game escalated beyond the refs' control. Read Maximum Security
"It was the highlight of all the hockey games I've ever watched," said Madeline, Natalie's sister. And Madeline's watched a lot of minor hockey.
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