Last night BF and I went to the Sweden/Slovakia quarter-finals game. Did anyone watch it!? What an awesome, epic game. Even though we were literally in the very last row in the uppers.
It was especially an amazing experience to be downtown right after Canada beat Russia. I’ve never been more proud to be Canadian, than in the past 2 weeks.
Here are a few pictures from the night.
So who watched last night’s Norway/Slovakia game? It was AMAZING. I was so sure Slovakia would dominate, but they only ended up winning 4-3. And when Norway tied up the game with 0.1 seconds left in the 2nd period? GM Place Canada Hockey Place went crazy! And I was cheering for Norway so much during the game that I don’t have much of a voice this morning. :) I’m sure it’ll get even worse tonight at the Sweden vs. Slovakia quarter-finals game.
We ate dinner at Red Robins by Metrotown because we didn’t want to fight the crowds for a place to eat downtown. My meal came to $19 after tax & tip.
When we got downtown, we went to see the cauldron. And I had to take the obligatory picture of it. There’s a platform you can get to, where you can get a better picture of the cauldron, and my friend said that the last time she was downtown the line-up was over an hour long. Last night, we waited maybe 5 minutes? It pays to go when the weather isn’t as great.
The energy in Canada Hockey Place was electric. So many people waving Norway and Slovakia flags. And I didn’t realize how many amazing players Slovakia has – no wonder why they beat Russia!
Palffy, Hossa, Chara, Demitra, Gaborik, Handzus, Kopecky, Satan, Stumpel, Zednik, Jurcina, Visnovsky … and not to mention Halak in net. Pretty impressive!
Our seats weren’t that great, Row 13 in the uppers, but every seat in Canada Hockey Place is a good one. Plus, I had my trusty Canon G-10 with me and it has a 20x zoom, so I was able to get pretty decent shots of the game.
Scary moment just minutes into the game! Norway’s Ole-Kristian Tollefsen elbowed Lubos Bartecko. Bartecko’s helmet flew off, and his head hit the ice. Blood was everywhere, it was pretty scary. I think he ended up with a concussion and a gash to the back of his head.
Someone threw a beach ball onto the ice, and none of the refs even went to pick it up. It was on there for a good 3 or 4 minutes. Some of the players would bat it with their sticks. And this play, two players even fell on top of it (to see the balloon under them, you might have to click on the picture to see the larger version). Anyway it was pretty funny.
The game was well worth the $80 I spent on the ticket. It was by far the most entertaining hockey game I have ever been to, and I can’t wait for the quarter-final game tonight at 9pm!
Also, I’ll be downtown while the Canada/Russia quarter-final is happening (4:30pm start). And if we don’t win? I am definitely predicting some riots. Go, Canada, go!
Is this the end of winter for Vancouver? We didn’t even HAVE a winter. I think it snowed one day in mid-December, melted by the next day, and we haven’t seen a snowflake since. I haven’t worn a jacket all winter. Before this rain came to town a few days ago, I wore my flip flops almost every day for 2 weeks. It’s absolutely crazy!
For the sake of my skiing pass, I certainly hope we get more snow up on those North Shore mountains. I paid $370 for my ski pass mid-way through last season, and the pass is valid until the end of this season … but I’ve only gone skiing at Grouse ONCE this entire season.
Last season I used my pass 10 times in 1/2 season, and combined with this season’s one time, that’s 11. Meaning my cost-per-use for my ski pass is $33.66 … and that doesn’t even factor in the cost for the ski gear that I’ve purchased.
COME ON MOTHER NATURE! WE NEED SOME SNOW!!!
Give Me Back My Five Bucks a quest for financial independence
