by Justin Orlewicz (Sports Editor)
Email: cascade.sports at ufv dot ca
This past month has been a hockey pilgrimage of sorts for me. It started with the Naslund retirement game at the local “Cable Box” which ended with Steven Stamkos killing the Canucks in overtime with a rocket slap shot from the point after a stupid Ryan Kesler penalty ended the most overrated Canucks “special night” ever. The following weekend, my beloved Maple Leafs were in town to take on the Canucks in what has become a heated rivalry in Vancouver because of all the Toronto transplants. The building was a healthy half and half mix of Canucks and Leaf fans, but as usual, the Maple Leafs fans would leave the newly named Rogers Arena in heartbreak, a theme that the fans have gotten used to by now. However, this rivalry only exists in Vancouver, the fans of Toronto have much bigger rivals than the Canucks to deal with.
After watching the two best games of the year in Vancouver, I decided to take a trip out east and see what hockey and hockey fans were like out there, and to my surprise, the eastern American fans know their “puck,” better than most people in Vancouver. My first stop was New York City to see the Rangers play the Devils, a rivalry that goes much deeper than the petty Vancouver-Toronto one. Both these teams have won recent Stanley Cups, and despite New Jerseys recent slide, the rivalry is stronger than ever. I met up with my friend from NYC, Scotty Hockey. Scotty is a Rangers blogger and was kind enough to take me to the Prudential Center in New Jersey to take on the Rangers. We hopped on a train at Penn Station wearing our Broadway Blue Shirts and made our way to Tony Soprano’s homeland to see just how bad the rivalry between these two teams is. Just as expected, the rivalry was still in full motion. For once this year the Prudential center was near capacity and half the fans were in Rangers jerseys. Sound similar? Only difference is this rivalry goes both ways, not like Vancouver where it’s a one sided affair.
After a few days in New York City, I headed north to Pittsburgh to catch the beloved Winter Classic. I got to Pittsburgh two days before the big match up, and the streets were already flooded with Capitals and Penguins jerseys. As I was checking into my hotel, I met a band of Capitals fans and one Penguins fan that struck me as good people. I hung out and ate and drank with my new friends for a few days, and after three days of hanging out and ringing in the new year with my new friends, I felt like I had known these people for well more than a few days. Even though the majority of the group were Capitals fans, we all packed into Adam’s car, with the beautiful Kristin driving, and we all witnessed hockey history together; the first nighttime Winter Classic. After the game, we returned to the hotel so that we could say our good byes, and so that I could pack for my trip back to Toronto. Logan, Adam, Kristin, Rick and Alli, you guys are great hockey fans and even better people. I was really happy to meet all of you! So here I am in Toronto on one last assignment to end my hockey pilgrimage. Tomorrow night I will go to the Air Canada Centre to watch the Maple Leafs take on the Boston Bruins. What better way to end a hockey pilgrimage than with an original six match up and a trip to the hall of fame?
