CPF Hockey: I Attended My First Local Junior Hockey Games in Almost Five Years

Over the past few days, I attended two of my local junior hockey team's games, who played a three-game series at a downtown arena that they only play a few games at every season. My local junior team is known as the Monsters, and they hosted their southern rivals known as the Roughnecks in one of their biggest series of the season. The last time I was at the downtown arena for a Monsters game was almost five years ago when the Stanley Cup was in the building. I was at the games they played in this series on Thursday and Saturday; both games had similar atmospheres and slightly different results, but were nothing short of exciting. Let's dive into them:

The first game on Thursday had some folks in attendance, most of which appeared to be families of players on the ice, and both teams wearing their standard home and away uniforms. The Monsters' uniforms in this game look like potential alternate uniforms the Dallas Stars would wear, while the away uniforms of the Roughnecks in this one reminded me of the Edmonton Oilers' Reverse Retro 1.0 uniforms. The atmosphere is more intimate at these games compared to those of NHL games, but the vibes at live hockey games are simply unmatched. I saw a handful of folks repping the Sharks and some other NHL teams scattered here and there, and this was more so the case at the game on Saturday as well. The barn is definitely showing its age, and I understand why it isn't used that often for events anymore, but games that take place at this arena are always enjoyable and carry a greater importance and nostalgia effect compared to the rink that they normally play their games at. The Monsters won the first game of this series 3-0, scoring one goal in every period.

The second game had the teams wear different uniforms than each of their previous two games in this series, drew more of a crowd than the first game on Thursday, and featured a spectacle that is often an integral part of minor league hockey during the holiday season: the teddy bear toss. Before finding my seat inside the arena, I had to purchase a collectible puck to add to my puck collection, which I felt was absolutely worth it. The Monsters wore detailed winter holiday-themed uniforms that looked cool, while the Roughnecks wore bright orange and yellow gradient uniforms with graphics of oil derricks across the bottoms of their jerseys. The latter uniforms had a great attention to detail, but I have seen better. Some stuffed animals went flying onto the ice during this teddy bear toss, but not in the hundreds or even thousands like with some minor league teams. I sat on one side of the ice at the beginning of the game briefly before I spotted a few of my buddies across the ice and had to go meet up with them. From that point, I spent the rest of the game with my buddies, who were sitting behind the Roughnecks' bench chirping them all night long while they were a few drinks deep.

The Monsters won the third and final game in this series in dominant fashion with a score of 8-1 to take two of three games. The Monsters scored once early in the first period, two in the second period, and erupted for five more goals in the third period. The Roughnecks only managed one goal in the second period. Another major factor in this game compared to the first one on Thursday was its overall physicality. Tensions were higher between the two teams in the third game of this series, featuring harder hits and a few fights. The Roughnecks' coaches praised my buddies for their chirping throughout the game, which almost got out of hand at one time. At that one time, security ushers were headed towards me and my buddies to kick us out of the game, but those officials were only motioning for at least one other fan who did something a bit more extreme, and all was good. In all, the second game of this series that I attended on Saturday was pure pandemonium.

In conclusion, these may not have been games involving two NHL-affiliated clubs, but they were a ton of fun, and I would want to attend more of these games in the future more often, especially if there is a major promotion or it becomes difficult for me to travel out of town to attend an NHL game. I highly recommend that anyone reading this post who has a chance to watch their local hockey team play in person do so, no matter what level they are, because it is some of the most fun you will ever have at any entertainment venue. You'll thank me later.