Stop #13 - Devils @ Rangers - March 15, 2004
Yup, they lost, 3-1. Brodeur got win 399 since they lost over the weekend. So nothing god came from this game. I did get to see Jozef Balej's first NHL goal, so that was kind of neat. Got to congratulate him on it after the game as well. I met him, Garth Murray, Tom Renney, Sandy McCarthy, Mike Green and Chris McAllister after the game and added their signatures to my yearbook. I talked to Mike Emrick before the game and Sam Rosen after it...had Sam sign my bobblehead box, too. Good stuff, we'll see where I go next.
Stop #14 - Penguins @ Rangers - March 21, 2004
Not really much to say about this one. Talked to Mike Dunham before the game and found out that Jamie McLennan was going to start, so that was good to know. I think the score on this one was 5-2. Pock? Who the hell is Pock, I thought. But he turned out to be a d-man the NYR signed straight out of college. He scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game, that was something to see. McLennan was the 6th different Rangers goalie I've seen.
Stop #15 - Sabres @ Rangers - March 31, 2004 - "Messier! Messier!"
Going to this game is certainly one of the cooler things I've ever done. Let's do things in chronological order here. I got to MSG at about 5, with ticket already in hand. I walked into the lobby directly behind Jamie Lundmark. Seeing nothing was going on, I decided to go to the McGhetto McDonald's across the street. On my way out, I walked past Boris Mironov and Lawrence Nycholat. After eating my chicken nuggets, I walked back into the lobby and bumped into Jed Ortmeyer. Good stuff.
There was a similar atmosphere to Ricbter Night at MSG. The lobby was packed with people waiting to get in. Fans crowded the lower level with signs saluting Messier before warmups. The place went nuts when Mess skated out, and then his family went right up to the glass where Mark greeted them. I was about 10 feet away from all that. Richter Night, Lindros scoring against Philly in his first game against them and Messier's goal in this game mark the times it's been the loudest I've ever heard it at MSG. This was the first time I've ever actually sat in the 400's, and that was really quite something too. But this was just such an experience, all the chants and Mess staying on the ice after the game. I watched the whole thing unfold right behind Messier's dad, so that was pretty cool to. If this really was Messier's last game, it's definitely something I'll never forget. And if he does play in D.C., well I'll be there for that too.
Stop #16 - Rangers @ Capitals - April 3, 2004
The Rangers-Capitals game was really just another event in a quality-filled weekend. I went down to DC late Friday afternoon. Shortly after arriving, Tom, his mom, her friend, Tom's aunt and uncle his four roomates and I all went out to dinner at a place called "The Occidental Grill," a "jacket, no-tie" place where every sitting president since Grant has been. I even packed down a glass of red wine, which quickly taught me that wine is not for me. After dinner, and the awesome "Honey, that is my Jaguar!" incident, we went back to Tom's apartment and played some quality Nintendo action.
Woke up around 12:30 or so to get to the MCI Center around 2. I went down for warmups and grabbed a few shots of Caps backup Matt Yeats before sliding over to the Rangers side to get some shots of all the young players. Layne Ulmer was in his first NHL game, so I had to make sure I got some shots of him. As far as, more or less, an AHL game goes, it was good. Rangers won it 3-2 in OT. Holik got the game winner. He had another goal in the game and Mike Green got his first NHL goal. The goalie matchup was McLennan-Kolzig. It was my 5th time seeing both the Caps and Kolzig...so much for seeing Yeats, but at least I didn't see Dunham for the 14th time. The Caps, as opposed to the Rangers, did "Fan Appreciation Day" the right way, despite having just as crappy of a season. They gave their jerseys away on the ice and had the players skate around throwing signed hats and shirts into the stands. Allegedely thanks to an assist from Tom, I caught one of the signed hats, so that was neat.
After the game, Tom and I met up with the four non-roomates to go to The Red, Hot and Blue. Good deal. Unless I weiner my way into some playoff games, this will be my last hockey game for a while. Hopefully, making the assumption that there is a season next year, I can keep up the new tradition of the Mike Ashmore NHL Tour.
Stop #17 - Devils @ Flyers - Game 5 - Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - April 17, 2004
Well, I weinered my way into a playoff game. Through work, my mom got me 2 tickets to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in Philadelphia against the Devils. Going into the game, the Flyers led the series, 3-1. Also cool was the fact that my dad was a stadium away, busy checking out brand new Citizens Bank Ballpark for a Phillies-Expos game. I'd been to the Wachovia Center before for basketball once, but never hockey...making it the 6th different arena I've seen NHL hockey in. Anyway, they gave out towels before the game, which was on ABC. I got my program and it featured a lineup card photo thing with Vladimir Malakhov on it, so that was neat. Crazy atmosphere there, it got so loud you could barely hear anything. The Flyers jumped out to a 1-0 lead, but the Devs tied it at 1 on a Niedermayer goal. But with 5 minutes left in the 3rd, Danny Markov beat Brodeur with a wicked wrister. They scored an empty netter and won 3-1. My first playoff game and I'd be seeing some handshakes. Good deal. Esche made 31 saves to get the win. So, I got to see my least favorite team get kicked out of the playoffs, and it was all free. The ride home sucked, car died, tow truck, yeah, yeah...same old story when it comes to Philly, but whatever, I had fun. Here's to me weinering my way into the Stanley Cup Finals!