Gladiators, yesterday; Hockey Players, today

The following is a press release from the hockey game I attended last night. You must realize that I know next to nothing about the game. It was only the second hockey game that I have been to, so I am truly a spectator rookie. The only thing that I could relate to were the fights. What is up with hockey and fighting, anyway? The refs do nothing to stop the pounding, standing idly by while Victor Czeckhvgil loses more teeth. Football has a lot more contact, but you don't see players flailing away at each other following a tackle. I don't get it. There were 4 or 5 fights during the game, 2 leaving blood on the ice. I will admit that it contributes to the excitement of the contest. Maybe soccer should look into this facet of the game.

The cool thing about the game is that #1, the tickets were free, #2 We were placed in a suite overlooking the arena with all the free food you could eat, and #3 I was in the presence of knowledgable hockey fans who could explain the game to me (namely, Marc patiently explaining the terms "icing", "clearing the zone", and such).

I'm not sure what an "even-strength goal" is (maybe it refers to the fact that no team members are in the penalty box), but regardless, here is the game summary:


Feb 11, 2006
Steelheads Press Release

BOISE, Idaho - Condors’ forward Mike Hofstrand scored an even-strength goal with just 4:56 left in regulation to lift the visitors to a 3-2 win over the Steelheads in front of 5,182 fans at Qwest Arena on Saturday night.On a rush into the Steelheads’ zone, Hofstrand took a feed from center Brian Collins and slipped the puck past Steelheads’ goaltender Steve Silverthorn (26 saves) to give the Condors their first lead of the game. The win allowed the Condors (20-18-5) to take four of a possible six points from the Steelheads (26-16-6) in the three-game series. Two more meetings between the clubs still remain with both of them coming next week in Bakersfield.