Sharks vs Red Wings at "The Tank"

I have never watched an ice hockey game.

There, I have said it. Despite being a semi-serious sports fan, despite going to school at 2 traditional NCAA ice hockey powerhouse, despite spending 6 years in the midwest. I have never watched an ice hockey game on TV, let alone live.

This Tuesday evening, however, it all changed. I went to the San Jose Sharks vs Detroit Red Wings game. This was a U of M Club of Greater San Francisco event.

I drove to downtown San Jose after work, found parking at the Market and San Pedro garage. The city charges $3 per entry on game night:( From the garage, it was a short walk to HP Pavilion, affectionately know as "The Tank" to Sharks fan.

I got to my seat just after the introduction of the players, which was followed by the singing of Star Spangled Banner. Then the game began...

In the first quarter, Sharks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. I thought both scores were sort of lucky since they came off rebounds from the Red Wings' goaltender. But the lead was short lived as the Wings scored twice to even the score later in the quarter. One was a rebound off the goaltender as well, and the other was a nice wrapped around shot.

In the second quarter, the Sharks had several good opportunities. There was a 5-6 minute segment where Sharks were constantly attacking, but resulted in no goals.

In the third quarter, Red Wings got 2 more early goals. The Sharks began to develop a sense of desperation. They were checking harder, skating faster. The Red Wings packed their defense, and despite efforts from the Sharks, there were no more goals scored.

I thought the better team won. On this night, the Red Wings seems more organized, control the puck better and passed more cleanly. I was surprised to learn later that the Sharks are actually ahead of the Red Wings in the standings.

Anyway, ice hockey is quite an exciting spectator sports because things are moving at high speed. Lots of good scoring opportunities could be created quickly, seemingly out of nowhere.

The game reviews can be read at SFGate.com and MercuryNews.com

After the game, our group met with Jed Ortmeyer. He is a fellow Michigan alumni! Jed was injured in the game and needed to see a trainer, but had committed to speaking with us. He shared with us his game day routine, which is pretty simple: wake up at 10am, meet team for breakfast, work on some drills, sleep, get dinner, work on more drills, warmed up for game. We shared about broomball event and immediately, a Shark media person joked "Are you guys trying to recruit Jed to be on your broomball team?" Everyone had a good laugh.

Overall, the ice hockey was a pretty fun experience. Now I am wondering if I should go to the Sharks game with Wisconsin alumni:)