Hockey Fun in Dallas

So, obviously I went to Dallas to see my second momma Wendy again and spend some quality time with her. Then there is always the great shopping in the States. Last but not least, let’s talk some hockey. If you want to read about the rest, you can read THIS post.

Dallas means the DALLAS STARS, my fave NHL team!!! I got to see them last year, but Tyler Seguin wasn’t there, that’s why this time I was really excited. Like last year, we went to a practice and the last game of the season.

Friday, April 7: We left and got some Starbucks and then headed to the Dr Pepper’s Arena. Some players were already on the ice when we arrived. More and more joined after a while. I was of course eager to finally see Tyler Seguin on the ice. I saw him play during lock outs in Switzerland in 2012 and have been a fan ever since. He is a great player, shows some awesome skills, has passion and also a great personality. Tyler was really playful and happy during this practice, it was so much fun to watch him, never seen him play up close. Stephen Johns is another one of these players, he was new to the team when I was there last year and he became one of my faves. Tyler Seguin and Stephen Johns were so funny, they played a little game together, which was just fab. Of course I aso got to see Radek Faksa, Jamie Benn, Adam Cracknell, John Klingberg (his brother Carl plays for my team in Switzerland), Jason Spezza and many more. Some players left the ice pretty fast, but it was great to see Seguin and Johns stay with some others. They had some fun and really enjoyed themselves. Tyler even interacted with the audience, tried some things on the ice and got really passionate. I loved seeing him like that. After practice we went to stand in line to see some of the players. Nine of them came out, including Stephen Johns!! He was really nice, I even told him that I came all the way from Switzerland ;). He is not really communicative though, when he answered it was all in a monotone line. We (Wendy and some of her readers) got a picture with him and I also got one just me and him. The other players, who came out were: Jamie Oleksiak, Radek Faksa, Esa Lindell, Devin Shore, Adam Cracknell, Julius Honka, Jason Dickinson and Gemel Smith. Usually it’s like one or two players to come out, so I definitely hit the jackpot. Tyler didn’t come unfortunately, but that’s fine, one day ;). I truly had the best time at this practice, seeing hockey action up close and getting to see all their skills in person is just awesome.

Stephen Johns

Stephen Johns

The ladies!

Tyler Seguin

Saturday, April 8: It’s game day!!! It’s the last game of the season, which means Fan Appreciation Night. They are playing Colorado Avalanche. I actually saw them 7 years ago playing the Canucks when I was in Vancouver, that was also my first NHL game. We headed to the AAC at around 4.30 to have dinner at Pira. The great thing about this restaurant: As soon as you get in, your tickets are scanned, you get a program and you are already in the stadium. After dinner we went to find our seats, got a beer and enjoyed warm ups. We were on the wrong side to see the Stars, but that’s fine, Avalanche have some great players too. We were actually sitting right behind the goal, fab seats. Of course I took plenty of pictures and little movies (see the vlog) and just enjoyed the game. Before the game there is always a big show, the anthem and then finally it started. The Stars started playing to our side, which was great of course. The game started well Devin Shore scored the only goal in the first period and then Jamie Benn increased to 2:0, John Klingberg and Tyler Seguin both had an assist to that one. Then the game dragged a little bit and Avalanche started scoring, one in the second period and two in the third. The game definitely got exciting after that again. With seven minutes to go Tyler Seguin scored the 3:3, what a goal!!! He had several chances before, he definitely showed his skills. This makes me really happy. I wanted to see him play and I did! Tyler Seguin is a fabulous hockey player, fun to watch and he shows so much passion. He also seems to have a lot of humour and you can really see that. Esa Lindell (one of my new faves) and John Klingberg had an assist on that one. All this meant over time, which I was totally fine with. That’s also where it got very intense. In over time it’s only three against three, which makes the game fast and exciting. It went from one side to the other, so great to watch. Seguin, Klingberg and … were on the ice, had several chances and then Klingberg scored!!!! I got it all on camera, but then the referees started discussing and it was called off, because of offside. Most of the Avalanche players already left the ice and had to come back. Most players were just laughing. So over time continued and made space for the shoot out! Tyler Seguin scored the only goal, an awesome one by the way, and we won!!!! I’m so glad they did. They basically had nothing to lose, because they didn’t make it to the playoffs. I’m actually sad the season is over now, I will miss following the Stars around. After the game Tyler Seguin received the Mike Modano Trophy for scoring the most points this season (72 points, 26 goals and 46 assists). This was very special. Then Jamie Benn had a little speech thanking the fans and then the players took their jerseys off and handed out some shirts. The highlight: Tyler taking his off not far from us ;). We finished off the hockey fun with shopping at the Hangar, I got two shirts, a jumper, a puck and a car magnet. It was all like 30% or 40%, which concluded in a great prize for me.

American Airlines Center

Sadly, they didn’t make the playoffs this year as I already said. I’ll have to wait until October for the fun to start again, I wish Dallas would be closer.

This time’s hockey experience was very special and unique for me. Yes, last year was great, I went to a practice and we had seats against the Preds by the glass, but it wasn’t the same, Tyler didn’t play. My dream came true finally seeing him live in action, he definitely is an awesome player on and off the ice. This time I also got to meet so many players after practice, which is just amazing. During practice I could have sworn that Tyler looked directly at me a few times ;). I even had a dream of getting a selfie with him the night after the game. I hope I will get to meet him once in my life. Thank you Wendy, the Dallas Stars and all the players for this amazing experience, I hope I will be back!

Esa Lindell

Stephen Johns

Esa Lindell

Gemel Smith

Radek Faksa 

Jason Dickinson

Adam Cracknell

Jamie Oleksiak

Julius Honka

NHL Hockey Experience – @ Madison Square Garden and the American Airlines Center

Hockey time!!! As most of you know, I’m a big hockey fan and I just love the NHL, so I had to go see a game or two.

The first one took me to Madison Square Garden, where the New York Rangers played against Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, that’s a pretty special game to me. I saw the Rangers play against my time in Switzerland a few years ago, when we opened our new stadium. And the Bolts?! Well, I love Florida, they are a great team and I saw an NHL game oft hem last year against Detroit.

I walked to the stadium pretty early to have enough time. I went inside the stadium and first explore the big fan shop, so many great things!!! I bought a cap for my brother. Then it was time to properly go into the stadium and find my seats. I got some food and a beer and sat down. My seat was great, it was on the second level and just behind the goal. After a while the teams came out for warm up and then it was time for the game. Tampa had an awesome start and scored twice pretty fast. It took the Rangers some time to get into the game, but then they were on fire, especially Derek Stepan. They scored 3 goals and won in the end. Yes, I wanted Tampa to win, but I’m fine with it, I like the Rangers. The game was very exciting and never boring, so that’s a huge plus.

I had some nice guys sitting next to me, we started talking and I showed them my Tampa shirt. Of course they wanted to know why I’m in New York, why I support Tampa etc. They also told some things about them, we had fun. One oft hem was actually really cute ;). I always seem to meet guys like that in another country and far away from Switzerland! Why, oh why?! ;)

Madison Square Garden is a fabulous arena, I loved every minute in there!

My Dallas hockey adventure started a day after I arrived. My second momma Wendy took me to the Stars practice at the Dr Pepper Center in Frisco. OMG, this was absolutely awesome! We were able to stand right next to the ice rink and watch the players train. This was so awesome on several levels. First of all, I was able to see al the players up front and really close, that was just insane. I took lots of pictures and filmed for my vlog, I felt weird first, because the players were so close. I also really enjoyed seeing what they actually do during a practice session. We never get to see them in Switzerland, so it was pretty special to me. Of course the one player I constantly watched was Jamie Benn, the captain, he’s just great. I have to say, I was sad that Tyler Seguin was not there, but I know that before. All the other fab players were there though: Jonny Oduya, Jason Spezza, Jason Demeres, Patrick Sharp (hottie), John Klingberg, Antoine Roussel and many more. I was also able to see coach Ruff and I discovered a new cute player: Stephen Johns ;). I can’t say it enough times, this was just awesome. During practice I got to meet Julie, who is a reporter and does interviews with players and other stuff for the Stars TV. It was great talking to her and hearing a bit of behind the scenes facts.

After the practice we went to the RallyHouse store, which is located right next to the rink, I bought a few Stars goodies: 2 shirts, key rings and gold balls (for my dad).

The second game led me to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, where the Dallas Stars played against the Nashville Predators. Two of my faves!!! Well, Dallas is my favourite team and I’m a big fan of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, they also have some other great players. And Nashville?! Roman Josi plays for Nashville, he is Swiss and he is awesome! I think now you can understand my excitement for this game!!!

Unfortunately, Tyler Seguin didn’t play, because he got injured a few weeks ago and sadly Roman and some other big players were not there as well. It was the last game of the regular season, so they didn’t play full force.

So, let me start at the beginning: We got to the stadium and were able to park right by stadium. I saw the stadium from the outside already during lunch time, when we explored the city a bit. We git in really fast, received a program and then went down to the “club”, I got a VIP bracelet and then we had dinner at the club. That was great, food galore, free beer and more. Just for the puck drop we went to our seats, right by the glass!!!!! The best seats ever, I would say awesome seats with a great view of the game. I loved being so close by the game, right by the actions. Again I got the players really close, which was awesome! The game started slow with Nashville scoring twice. I still had enough time to get some good footage ;). After the first period we went down to the club again and had dessert, all for free. I might have to add her that only glass seat people get in the club and the WAGS (wives and girlfriends) lounge is just next to it. The second period was so much better, the Stars scored twice, or should I rather say Jason Spezza scored twice!? ;) in the second intermission we went to the Hangar to get more Dallas Stars goodies, they had 25% on all items, which is fab. I got another shirt and a Dallas Stars bag, perfect for carrying my school books. The third period was pretty intense, with both teams trying to score the winning goal. And only a few minutes before the 60 minutes were over Jason Spezza scored again. The whole arena exploded, I even got it on film. So amazing!!! A huge party. We won and the are Central Division Champions, which is AMAZING!!!! After the game Jamie Benn gave a little speech, which was very cute and the players handed out shirts. And now OMG, Jamie Benn handed one to Wendy’s daughter!!!! We couldn’t believe it, best night ever! I got a glimpse of Tyler, who was on the Stars bench in a suit! I’m still a bit sad that I didn’t get to see him play, but you can’t have everything I guess ;).

The AAC arena is a beautiful arena, inside and out, nothing compared to what I have seen before! The atmosphere during the game was electric and I loved every second of that evening. Of course I was wearing my Stars shirt! So the Dallas Stars made it to the playoffs now and I can’t wait to see how they will do, Stanley Cup here we come!!!

I actually thought that after Dallas I will not talk about hockey, but here we go! Chicago is of course home of the Chicago Blackhawks. I didn’t look for the Blackhawks store, but there it suddenly was on Michigan Avenue, so of course I went in, I can’t resist anything hockey related. So the first thing I did was browse through the store, then there was a section, where you could take a picture with your favourite player. There was a big camera, like one on a computer and a white wall. All I had to do, was standing in front of it and smiling. I pocked Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane as the players and their locker room as a background. They then sent me the pic via email and also posted it on their Twitter account. I then looked for a nice shirt and was ton between two, one was a bit sparkly, had their logo on it and in black their name, the other one had a big logo on the front and a players name with his number on the back. I then picked Toews and decided the leave the other one behind. Toews’ shirt is a bit special, because it also has a C in front, because he is the captain. Well, I also picked up two Stanley Cup Playoffs pucks, one for me and one for my brother. Only then I realised that there was a table with a guy sitting there and signing pictures. It was Denis Savard, former Blackhawks player, so awesome!!! I of course got two pictures and also got the pucks signed. I hoped my brother will be happy with me ;). In the evening I of course watched their first playoff game against the St. Louis Blues. Unfortunately, they lost in overtime. I can’t wait for Dallas to start the playoffs. Their first game is exactly when I fly back to Switzerland. Guess what I’ll be doing when I land ;).

So, here is the end of my rambling about hockey, sorry if you’re not into the sport, but I guess the ones who don’t like it, haven’t even started reading this post in the first place ;).

I will put up a separate hockey vlog on YouTube (tomorrow or Sunday probably), so make sure you check that one out as well :).