Hitman Vs Broncos

see all photos »

It was only a 3 hour shift today. I finished work at 3pm and the next work shuttle bus to leave COP was at 5:30pm. I did not want to wait around for two and a half hours so I decided to take public transport home. I waited around for the Bus which came in 10 minutes and I hopped on then my phone rang. It was Chris(Aussie Chef in the kitchen) who asked if I wanted to go to a Hitman Ice Hockey game for which he had free tickets for and started at 5pm. I was running out of food at home and my plan was to head to Safeway to do some grocery shopping but going to a Hitman game was the better option. So I said Yes. I got home at just after 4pm and called Chris to come over. He called a cab and I ran upstairs stripped off my work clothes and put on some casual clothes and because I didn't eat lunch at all I was starving. So I quickly interogated the fridge, found 1 egg, some mixed lettuce and a can of tuna and whipped myself up a quick bite to eat. Fried egg with lettuce and tuna, yep very technical. Then the cab came and I scraped it all into a disposable paper bowl and got some disposable chopsticks and I carried it out into the taxi and off we went to the Saddle Dome.

see all photos »

The ride there was somewhat an amusing one, the taxi driver was abusing every car he was stuck behind, who cut him off and even pedestrians who he was meant to give way too. Once we got to the Saddle Dome I scoffed down my food just outside the doors and in we went. I first went straight for the ATM machine to get some cash out and then Chris and I went to buy 3 "Hard Hats" which were little stress construction hats like stress balls. They each had a number on them which you had the chance to win prizes with. After purchasing the Hard Hats we went straight to get some food, the game was already starting and there were still huge line ups at the fast food stores so I just jumped in line at one and it ends up being a store that sold only popcorn, packaged chips, drinks and hot dogs. I didn't want to leave and line up somewhere else so I just ended up buying a huge tub of popcorn for $5 and a drink for $3. It was like going to the movies. Then we went to find our seats and after asking serveral peope of which one of them looked like a lady from behind and when I walked up to her and A HE turned around I kind of got a bit freaked out and for a minute there and forgot what I was suppose to ask, then it came back to me and he directed me to the right place.

see all photos »

The seats were good, it was on the first level but 8 rows up on a 45 degree angle to where the goals are and we could see everything pefectly. It was The Hitmen Vs The Broncos. It was a very fast paced game, if you even kept your eyes off the puck a goal could have very well been scored, which is what exactly what happened to me. The stadium came alive with the roaring voices of thousands of Hitman fans. So Chris and I joined in roaring and giving each other high fives just to blend in with the crowd. After the first period, there was 18 minutes rest and that was our signal to go get some beer. Chris volunteered and by the time he came back the 2nd period had already started. It took him forever to get a beer. But I guess it's exactly like back home when you go watch a footy match. If you go during the break then everyone is going to want to buy something so the smart thing to do is just go before the end of the period. Anyhow into the second and it was very much the same, very fast paced. A lot of body checking(where a player trys to gain the puck from the opponent or slams the opponent into the glass) involved, it was rough and I was hoping for a fight will break loose but unfortunately it did not. Then Goal....a second Goal was scored by The Hitman and people jumped and cheered and were convinced that they had brought the game home. There was like a few minutes remaining after they scored so this was my queue to get the next round of drinks. I went out and it took me 5 minutes to get the drinks and I was asked for ID. So it would have taken 4 minutes. By the time I got back it was the break for the 2nd Period and it was also time to win prizes with the Hard Hats that we purchased. They rolled out a big house to the centre of the Ice Hockey field with like open roofs and the aim was to throw your Hard Hat into the house from behind the glass and they will pick 4 Hard Hat winners out of them. So Chris and I ran as close as we could to get a fair shot. Chris lobbed his first shot and it fell 5 metres short of the house, then I threw mine which ended up being a shocker of a throw that hit the glass and bounced back almost smacking some poor kid in the face. I retrieved it and took another shot and it also fell 5 metres short of the house. Then Chris threw our last Hard Hat with as much power as possible like a baseball pitcher and it went straight in. Then the numbers were called and #273 - nope not us, #453 - nope not us - # 149 nope not us and #473 "Yep that's us" Chris jumped up and waved his hands in the air frantically. He went to collect the prize and came back with 4 Hitman tickets and 2 Redneck Lacrosse tickets and a signed Calgary Hitman Jersey from all the players. That made our night.

see all photos »

Then the 3rd Period was about to start, for most of the game it was very one sided, the Hitman had dominated most of the game with 55 shots at goal to 12. Then suddenly the Bronco's smacked a goal right to the back of the net and it was then 2 to 1. The game had suddenly got a bit more exciting with the Hitman defending a bit more and the Bronco's firing more shots at goal. There was like 3 minutes left with the Hitman in control of the puck, passing it around and 'SMACK' it was fired but hit the bar at the top of the goals and bounced off. Bronco's then gained control of the puck and somehow they managed to sneak a goal in before the last minute to force it to overtime.

see all photos »

There was only 5 minutes of play in overtime and the Bronco's had delivered a winning goal in the 3rd minute and it was all over. All the Hitman fans were absolutely petrified and confused at how they manged to lose the game with 2 goals up at one stage. But it was definitely a good game to watch.