Arena #3: Mellon Arena (Pittsburgh, PA)

Home of the: Pittsburgh Penguins

Visited On: October 24, 2009
Teams Seen: Penguins vs. Devils
Game Result: New Jersey 4, Pittsburgh 1
Section A20, Row E, Seat 10

I'd wanted to visit Mellon Arena for some time, and I got the chance over the summer. I visited my aunt in Pittsburgh the first week in August and was able to find my way down to the Arena via public transportation. It was so awesome from the outside, and PenStation was open so I was able to go in there... but not in the actual arena, save for a minute to purchase a pressed penny. It was then that I realized how much I wanted to see a game there, especially before the Arena closed.

Well, that wish came true. I bought my dad & I tickets at the start of the season (because I don't drive) and on October 24th, I was able to see a game at Mellon Arena. It was, in a word, amazing.

You can definitely tell it's an old arena, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful - and it is definitely beautiful. The outside is gorgeous, even at night (though I was disappointed that it wasn't better lit outside, made my pictures (see above) sort of dark. oh well.) It definitely looks (and feels) like an igloo.

The gates are right on the outside of the arena, so you have to line up outside the arena in order to get in. I thought that was odd, but maybe that's just because I'm used to the way it is at HSBC Arena. We went in, they scanned our tickets, and gave us FREE programs! A+ Pittsburgh! Granted, they are smaller programs, but there's very few advertisements, lots of good content, high-quality pictures, and for FREE. Awesome!

Our first stop before our seats was PenStation. I bought a Kris Letang white jersey, Letang jersey shirt (black), Penguins earrings, a Penguins third logo decal, and the book "Summer with Stanley" (which is a very neat book!) By the time I got out of there, it was pretty much time to go to our seats to avoid missing anything. I have to say, the store is VERY crowded. It's small, but it's got a lot of great things.

Our seats.... AMAZING. Five rows from the ice, in the corner, and my seat was on the aisle. Meaning.. um... my seat was an aisle's length (like... 2 feet) away from the Penguins' locker room entrance! I nearly died when I realized that, crazy. I didn't expect that at all, so it was a major bonus.

In addition, Brent Johnson (back-up goalie) was sitting about five feet away from me the entire game. Distracting much? Awesome.

The game itself wasn't great, but at least I got to see the Penguins score once! The crowd truly is special, the fans are really great and go completely insane when they score, and even when they don't... WOW. They play the "Hey" song, then shut it off and everyone sings the "HEY" part in unison. They get the wave going, and it got about 7-8 good, strong cycles.

The in-game videos are really special. I loved them all, and I wish I could find them on Youtube or elsewhere - I'll have to check, because they were fantastic. The intro video is also spectacular, I'll be downloading that as soon as possible too.

I'd never sat that low for a Penguins game before (at the Winter Classic, I was higher up), so I'd never seen any of this team up close. Crosby, Malkin, Orpik, Staal, Letang, Goligoski, Cooke... seeing them all up close was perfect. Amazing.

During the intermissions, I made sure to walk around the arena - the different levels and everything. It's sort of an odd setup, and you definitely feel like you're in an igloo in terms of shape. I went to all the different levels and took pictures there (like the one below), checked out the wall of jerseys, the championship memorabilia, etc.

After the game was over, I made my dad stick around and take pictures of me by the ice. As we were picking up our stuff, *someone* walks out of the Penguins locker room IN A SUIT. And I quickly realize... it's Sergei Gonchar! Wow! Just before we walked away, I said "I hope you get better soon!" He heard me, turned around, smiled, and waved. 'Twas adorable :)

Overall, the best part about this game... THE ATMOSPHERE. Mellon Arena truly does have a unique atmosphere, even though I can't exactly put my finger on what makes it so unique. A combination of everything, I think. The songs, the videos, the fans, the loyalty, the excitement of the players... everything.

Honestly, I was sitting in my seat during the second period and wanted to cry. It was all so amazing, so beautiful, so unique, and so perfect, and I was just so happy. At the same time, I was also very sad knowing that I'll probably never get to see another game in Mellon Arena, and that soon enough, it will all be gone.

More pictures can be seen here (from just the game) and here from the rest of my trip.

Arena #2: Air Canada Centre (Toronto, ON)

Home of the: Toronto Maple Leafs

Visited On: March 7, 2009
Teams Seen: Leafs vs. Oilers
Game Result: Edmonton 4, Toronto 1
Section 317, Row 9X, Seat 11

This game was part of a trip to Toronto that I took with my sister and brother-in-law. We went for the weekend (game on Saturday night), and also went to the Hockey Hall of Fame, CN Tower, and Gretzky's, among other places.

Originally, our trip to Toronto didn't include a Leafs game. Though I wanted to go, I had tried buying tickets through the Leafs' official site and found no available tickets. Looking on Stubhub and other sites, the prices were ridiculously high. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed.

Until a few weeks before the trip, when I decided to go online and check the Leafs' site again, just for kicks. Sure enough, I was able to find three consecutive seats for just over $25 each. The site said the seats were "obstructed," which is why they were so cheap. I didn't care - I bought them anyways. I figured that the seats couldn't be THAT bad, or else there wouldn't be seats there in the first place, right?

Right! Air Canada Centre is a very nice building. It has three entrances, so I didn't actually get to see the *front* of the arena. We entered through the Union Station entrance, which is what the above picture represents. There's table hockey and games in the pavilion - super cool! For some odd reason, I didn't get to go to the Leafs team store (I'll have to stop back there someday.)

The arena is very nice. The elevators have the Leafs' logo painted on them, something I've never seen in an arena before. Tim Hortons' and Pizza Pizza are just two of the restaurants offered at the arena.

Seeing all the Stanley Cup champion banners is new for me, as this is the first arena I'd ever been to besides HSBC Arena in Buffalo. Another odd thing was hearing only the Canadian anthem, but I didn't mind. It was just odd not hearing the American anthem!

The Oilers ended up winning, which I enjoyed. I like the Leafs, but I also like the Oilers, so I didn't mind their victory.

Another odd thing? When the three stars of the game were announced, they all came out on the ice. Usually (at least at HSBC Arena), only the Sabres come out. Any stars from the other team don't come out on the ice. The three stars were Luke Schenn (#3), John Mitchell (#2), and Dwayne Roloson (#1). After Schenn and Mitchell came out, I figured that was it. But then, they announced Roloson's name and out he skated onto the ice! All the Oilers fans (including myself) went crazy, and it was awesome!

More pictures can be seen (from my overall trip, and the game itself) here and here.

Arena #1: HSBC Arena (Buffalo, NY)

Home of the: Buffalo Sabres

Visited On: January 6, 2009 (and many other times)
Teams Seen: Sabres vs. Senators
Game Result: Buffalo 4, Ottawa 2
Section 117, Row 4, Seat 6

First, it needs to be pointed out that HSBC Arena is my home. As a native Buffalonian, I've been there many times, including back when it was still "Marine Midland Arena." And each time I go, the experience is always great, no matter what team the Sabres play or what the end result is.

For this game, I bought tickets for my mother & I for Christmas. We really like some of the Senators (ie. Antoine Vermette, Mike Fisher, Alexandre Picard). Luckily, we sat two rows behind the Senators' penalty box. Being that close to the action is always amazing :)

The row in front of us... Sens fans. I don't mind, because I do like the Senators, just not when they play the Sabres. Most fans seem to be nice, even if they ARE for the opposing team, and I like conversing with fans of other teams. There were quite a few Senators fans at the game, including several from Ontario sitting next to us.

The game itself was great. The Sabres won, and Vermette, Fisher AND Picard all got penalties, which meant they came super close to where we were sitting. Fantastic.

More pictures can be found on my Facebook, here.

Introduction

Hello all! My name is Melissa. I'm an 18-year-old hockey fan and I've been obsessed with this sport since the age of six. One of my goals in life? To see an NHL game at each of the thirty arenas. This is my blog to commemorate that project.

It will undoubtedly take a while to get this done, as I don't even have a driver's license (yet) and I'll have to save my money. But it will get done, one way or another.

The thing I love most in life is the experience of going to a hockey game. There's nothing like that atmosphere; the fans (of both teams) pumped for the game, heading down to the arena, smelling pucks, popcorn, and beer - classic arena scents. Feeling the chill of the ice as you get closer to the rink, and finally walking through that hall and seeing the rink open up in front of you. 18,000 seats, and one of them belongs to you for that night. Finding that seat, and getting ready for a great night of the best sport ever played.

That's what I want, and I'm going for it. Wish me luck, and follow me as I attempt this journey :)

You can also find me on other sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Bleacher Report, and Inside Hockey.