pmc336699
Verified Trader
As some of you know Curt (GabbyGuy) does a Classic Rock radio show in his home town of Rochester, Minnesota. His station gets him press credentials into select Wild games, and he was kind enough to let me ride his coattails for a game. He asked me a while back if I would be available to go to the Wild vs. Devils game on Thursday 3/13 (Been busy and my typing skills aren't great, so it took some time to post this) I replied by saying I would drop whatever I was doing in a heartbeat if he could make it happen. I've been to many Wild games in the past, but none in the press box, and none against one of the best goalies of all-time. The following is the rather long story of a great evening:
Curt told me to meet him at Gate 1 of the Xcel Energy Center at 5:30 p.m. Of course, being as excited as I was, I showed up about ten minutes early. I only have a 15 minute trip to the arena, as opposed to the hour drive for Curt. After wondering around for a bit, I found him and we proceeded to the press entrance. The nice lady at the gate checked off our names, gave us our passes with a game program, and we were in.
First on the agenda was to go get the free meal. We went down to Billy Rob's Cafe down by the locker room where they were serving prime rib and shrimp. Yum!! There was lots of other good food, too. I could have eaten myself into a coma if I wasn't careful. I actually had to pass on the cheesecake, which is almost unheard of for me. [Homer Simpson voice] Mmm...cheescake...ohhh. [Homer Simpson voice] It was a great meal, and now we were ready for some hockey.
After that Curt took me up to the press box, and showed me around a little. He pointed out where the official NHL stat keepers work, and introduced me to the guys. They were very nice, and explained to me how the system works. As a bit of a stat guy myself, I found it to be pretty interesting. He also showed me where the brains of the Xcel are. This is the room where they run the scoreboard, music, and such. Going down the line, he also showed me where both team's TV announcers work. And finally, he introduced me to the Wild's radio broadcasters Tom Reid and Bob Kurtz. Both were very cordial. After that we decided to head down with the fans to watch the warm ups. We tucked in our press passes, and blended in with the crowd. I clicked a few pictures, but they didn't turn out that great (I really need to master my new camera).
Once the warm up was over we took our seats, and prepared for the game. They had all sorts of stats and information on paper for the press, so we grabbed a few things to read over. Our spots were right by the GM box for the Wild where General Manager Doug Risebrough and Goaltending Coach Bob Mason watch from. It's a really neat spot to see a game. There are a bunch of televisions hanging from the ceiling, so you can also watch the broadcast of the game. They have a seven second delay, and you can watch things happen again like deja vu. It's also nice to be able to watch the TV replays right away. It happened to be commemorative puck night, and someone came around to hand out pucks to us. The set is in honor of the Wild's greatest goals, and that night was the Bouchard spin-o-rama shootout winner puck. I went to a game earlier in the season, and got the first one of the series. Now I'll have to pick up the others on the cyber-fleamarket.
In the first period the Wild came out with an early 2-0 lead on goals by Stephane Veilleux and Brent Burns. They were playing very well against an always tough Martin Brodeur. Marty has a lot of skill, but he also had a lot of luck on his side. The puck kept trickling trough the crease, and it could have easily been 4-0 if some one could've just tapped them in. There was even a fight involving the one of the newest members of the Wild, Chris Simon. I chalked it up to a win for Simon against the Devils' Clarkson. At the end of the period the shots were even at 11-11, and the Wild were up 2-0.
In between periods we got up and stretched our legs a little. The players who were scratches for the game were up there milling around. I saw Aaron Voros, Petteri Nummelin, Eric Belanger, Sean Hill, and Matt Foy. Wes Walz was there with his kid even though he's been retired since the early part of the season. The players look a lot different without all their gear on. I wanted to ask them for autos, but that's frowned upon for press guys. There is a room up there where they have free snacks and soda. I grabbed some popcorn and a Sprite, and nearly walked right into Wild GM Doug Risebrough coming out of the snack room. I apologized, and went on my way back to the seat.
In the second period the Devils battled back. They evened it up at two a piece on goals by Vitaly Vishnevski and Brian Gionta. Again, Brodeur got some lucky bounces that kept the Devils in it. It seems like that guy has a force field around him sometimes. It looked like it was going to be 2-2 going into the third, but then with 13 seconds left Marian Gaborik scored on a rebound from a Mikko Koivu backhander. It was Gaborik's 35th of the season, and 199th of his career. He must have known two of his biggest collectors were there...just kidding. 3-2 after two periods, and shots were even at 19-19.
The third period was also a nail biter. The Wild peppered Brodeur, but couldn't sneak another one past him. As quoted from NHL.com: "I made a lot of saves, but I got real lucky, too," Brodeur said. "They threw a lot on net and a lot of weird bounces from the boards and even from tips and stuff. Sometimes you need that luck to survive, and it was definitely on our side." Unfortunately for Minnesota, Dainius Zubrus got one by Nicklas Backstrom five and half minutes into the period to tie it at three a piece. It was pretty much back and forth after that. John Madden took a penalty with 53 seconds left in the period, but the Wild couldn't convert the power play with the remaining time. Shots were 28-32 in favor of Minnesota after three.
The Wild were still on the power play to start the overtime frame. They continued to throw everything at the net. Brodeur absolutely robbed Gaborik of the game winner with a great glove save. The five minute session was still not enough to decide the game, and it was on to the shootout. Marty stopped every shot that the Wild made, and Minnesota native Jamie Langenbrunner slipped one by Backstrom to seal the victory for the Devils. For some reason the Wild are not nearly as good at the shootout as last year where they got many extra points. It was tough blowing the early two goal lead, but at least they were able to get one point out of it against the number one team in the east at the time.
Now it was time to head down to the locker room to interview the players. Curt and I headed to the elevators to take us down to the lower level. There were many other reporters, so the elevator filled up quickly. There wasn't much room left, but we snuck on anyway before the doors closed. Crammed in like a bunch of sardines, I looked over and we were standing right next to none other than Lou Lamoriello. As Devils fans here know he is the CEO/President/General Manager. Despite the victory for his team he didn't have a very friendly look to him, so I just kept my mouth shut and looked at my shoes.
As we headed to the Wild locker room we passed the Devils locker room where they were cranking some real girly music (no offense ladies). It didn't really seem like hockey music. Curt and I just passed on by to interview some Minnesota players. Entering the locker room, we saw a TV reporter interviewing Stephane Veilluex. When I got home later my girlfriend said she saw me walk by on TV. Damn, there went my 15 minutes of fame. Right at the entrance of the locker room is the stick rack. I caught myself thinking of how many game-used cards that would make. Once inside, I was pretty much in awe. It was very neat to see each player's stall with all their gear in it. Other press people were interviewing Mikko Koivu, and I thought how much it would suck to have all those microphones and recorders shoved in your face after a loss. Curt whipped out his note pad, and began taking notes while others asked questions. I more or less stood there like a deer in headlights. It was very surreal being in there. James Sheppard was hanging out in nothing but his undies, and Brian Rolston was getting interviewed in just a towel (my girlfriend was very jealous about that). It was a little bit awkward.
After that we thanked the players, and went to the coach's press conference across the hall. It was pretty cool to actually be there live. Jacques Lemaire has an interesting delivery, and is really good about answering questions. Curt and I sat in the back row. I pretty much clammed up, and couldn't think of anything to ask him. It didn't really matter anyway, because two guys in the front were firing off questions back and forth. I assume they were from the Minnesota newspaper. I think it was maybe ten minutes at the most, and the press conference was over. With all the excitement we were ready for a cold one. Lucky for us press people are allowed to go into the Fishing Lodge which is a bar down near the ice. It is reserved for the people who get the on the glass seats that are $250 a piece, or something. Beer and drinks are free there, and we grabbed a quick one before they closed down. [Homer voice again] Mmmm...free beer...ohhh. [Homer voice again]
Now this is where you would think this awesome night would end, but not so. Curt and I decided to head down to Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub for a couple more beers and some conversation. It is a bar a few blocks from the arena that is owned by the radio broadcaster for the Wild and former North Star/Blackhawks defenseman. It's a really neat place with lots of hockey memorabilia. We were chit-chatting and enjoying our barley pops when a bunch of people started gathering around a guy, and were asking for pictures. Curt said, "Hey, that's Chico Resch." I didn't recognize him at first, because I've only seen him on old hockey cards. Apparently, he used to play for the Devils and is now part of the TV crew. He does a segment on New Jersey broadcasts called "Chico Eats" where he checks out all the stadium food. After the other people left him to his glass of wine, Curt and I went over to chat with him. He was really nice, and very chatty. For some reason he said I looked like I was Czech. I found this to be pretty funny since I'm a whole bunch of different nationalities, and none of them are Eastern European. We kept gabbing for a while, and eventually we moved toward the back of the bar where there is an old picture of Tom Reid taking a penalty shot against Ken Dryden. Tommy came back and joined the conversation with us. Unknown to me, that was the only penalty shot ever scored on the great Dryden. It was really cool talking old time hockey with those guys, and very nice of them to not to give us the cold shoulder. I'm sure it was because Reid has seen Curt at games many times. It was getting late, so Curt and I asked for a picture with Chico and thanked those guys for the stories. We ended up leaving the bar at about 12 a.m., and Curt still had the long drive home. I think he took the next day off, but I wasn't so lucky. It was tough getting up in the morning, but it was well worth it!
I can't thank Curt enough for this truly amazing experience. It is something I will never forget. Keep an eye on your mailbox, bud. I'm sending you a little something in appreciation. Feel free to add anything I forgot. For those of you who made it through the mountain of text, thanks for hanging in there.
Curt told me to meet him at Gate 1 of the Xcel Energy Center at 5:30 p.m. Of course, being as excited as I was, I showed up about ten minutes early. I only have a 15 minute trip to the arena, as opposed to the hour drive for Curt. After wondering around for a bit, I found him and we proceeded to the press entrance. The nice lady at the gate checked off our names, gave us our passes with a game program, and we were in.
First on the agenda was to go get the free meal. We went down to Billy Rob's Cafe down by the locker room where they were serving prime rib and shrimp. Yum!! There was lots of other good food, too. I could have eaten myself into a coma if I wasn't careful. I actually had to pass on the cheesecake, which is almost unheard of for me. [Homer Simpson voice] Mmm...cheescake...ohhh. [Homer Simpson voice] It was a great meal, and now we were ready for some hockey.
After that Curt took me up to the press box, and showed me around a little. He pointed out where the official NHL stat keepers work, and introduced me to the guys. They were very nice, and explained to me how the system works. As a bit of a stat guy myself, I found it to be pretty interesting. He also showed me where the brains of the Xcel are. This is the room where they run the scoreboard, music, and such. Going down the line, he also showed me where both team's TV announcers work. And finally, he introduced me to the Wild's radio broadcasters Tom Reid and Bob Kurtz. Both were very cordial. After that we decided to head down with the fans to watch the warm ups. We tucked in our press passes, and blended in with the crowd. I clicked a few pictures, but they didn't turn out that great (I really need to master my new camera).
Once the warm up was over we took our seats, and prepared for the game. They had all sorts of stats and information on paper for the press, so we grabbed a few things to read over. Our spots were right by the GM box for the Wild where General Manager Doug Risebrough and Goaltending Coach Bob Mason watch from. It's a really neat spot to see a game. There are a bunch of televisions hanging from the ceiling, so you can also watch the broadcast of the game. They have a seven second delay, and you can watch things happen again like deja vu. It's also nice to be able to watch the TV replays right away. It happened to be commemorative puck night, and someone came around to hand out pucks to us. The set is in honor of the Wild's greatest goals, and that night was the Bouchard spin-o-rama shootout winner puck. I went to a game earlier in the season, and got the first one of the series. Now I'll have to pick up the others on the cyber-fleamarket.
In the first period the Wild came out with an early 2-0 lead on goals by Stephane Veilleux and Brent Burns. They were playing very well against an always tough Martin Brodeur. Marty has a lot of skill, but he also had a lot of luck on his side. The puck kept trickling trough the crease, and it could have easily been 4-0 if some one could've just tapped them in. There was even a fight involving the one of the newest members of the Wild, Chris Simon. I chalked it up to a win for Simon against the Devils' Clarkson. At the end of the period the shots were even at 11-11, and the Wild were up 2-0.
In between periods we got up and stretched our legs a little. The players who were scratches for the game were up there milling around. I saw Aaron Voros, Petteri Nummelin, Eric Belanger, Sean Hill, and Matt Foy. Wes Walz was there with his kid even though he's been retired since the early part of the season. The players look a lot different without all their gear on. I wanted to ask them for autos, but that's frowned upon for press guys. There is a room up there where they have free snacks and soda. I grabbed some popcorn and a Sprite, and nearly walked right into Wild GM Doug Risebrough coming out of the snack room. I apologized, and went on my way back to the seat.
In the second period the Devils battled back. They evened it up at two a piece on goals by Vitaly Vishnevski and Brian Gionta. Again, Brodeur got some lucky bounces that kept the Devils in it. It seems like that guy has a force field around him sometimes. It looked like it was going to be 2-2 going into the third, but then with 13 seconds left Marian Gaborik scored on a rebound from a Mikko Koivu backhander. It was Gaborik's 35th of the season, and 199th of his career. He must have known two of his biggest collectors were there...just kidding. 3-2 after two periods, and shots were even at 19-19.
The third period was also a nail biter. The Wild peppered Brodeur, but couldn't sneak another one past him. As quoted from NHL.com: "I made a lot of saves, but I got real lucky, too," Brodeur said. "They threw a lot on net and a lot of weird bounces from the boards and even from tips and stuff. Sometimes you need that luck to survive, and it was definitely on our side." Unfortunately for Minnesota, Dainius Zubrus got one by Nicklas Backstrom five and half minutes into the period to tie it at three a piece. It was pretty much back and forth after that. John Madden took a penalty with 53 seconds left in the period, but the Wild couldn't convert the power play with the remaining time. Shots were 28-32 in favor of Minnesota after three.
The Wild were still on the power play to start the overtime frame. They continued to throw everything at the net. Brodeur absolutely robbed Gaborik of the game winner with a great glove save. The five minute session was still not enough to decide the game, and it was on to the shootout. Marty stopped every shot that the Wild made, and Minnesota native Jamie Langenbrunner slipped one by Backstrom to seal the victory for the Devils. For some reason the Wild are not nearly as good at the shootout as last year where they got many extra points. It was tough blowing the early two goal lead, but at least they were able to get one point out of it against the number one team in the east at the time.
Now it was time to head down to the locker room to interview the players. Curt and I headed to the elevators to take us down to the lower level. There were many other reporters, so the elevator filled up quickly. There wasn't much room left, but we snuck on anyway before the doors closed. Crammed in like a bunch of sardines, I looked over and we were standing right next to none other than Lou Lamoriello. As Devils fans here know he is the CEO/President/General Manager. Despite the victory for his team he didn't have a very friendly look to him, so I just kept my mouth shut and looked at my shoes.
As we headed to the Wild locker room we passed the Devils locker room where they were cranking some real girly music (no offense ladies). It didn't really seem like hockey music. Curt and I just passed on by to interview some Minnesota players. Entering the locker room, we saw a TV reporter interviewing Stephane Veilluex. When I got home later my girlfriend said she saw me walk by on TV. Damn, there went my 15 minutes of fame. Right at the entrance of the locker room is the stick rack. I caught myself thinking of how many game-used cards that would make. Once inside, I was pretty much in awe. It was very neat to see each player's stall with all their gear in it. Other press people were interviewing Mikko Koivu, and I thought how much it would suck to have all those microphones and recorders shoved in your face after a loss. Curt whipped out his note pad, and began taking notes while others asked questions. I more or less stood there like a deer in headlights. It was very surreal being in there. James Sheppard was hanging out in nothing but his undies, and Brian Rolston was getting interviewed in just a towel (my girlfriend was very jealous about that). It was a little bit awkward.
After that we thanked the players, and went to the coach's press conference across the hall. It was pretty cool to actually be there live. Jacques Lemaire has an interesting delivery, and is really good about answering questions. Curt and I sat in the back row. I pretty much clammed up, and couldn't think of anything to ask him. It didn't really matter anyway, because two guys in the front were firing off questions back and forth. I assume they were from the Minnesota newspaper. I think it was maybe ten minutes at the most, and the press conference was over. With all the excitement we were ready for a cold one. Lucky for us press people are allowed to go into the Fishing Lodge which is a bar down near the ice. It is reserved for the people who get the on the glass seats that are $250 a piece, or something. Beer and drinks are free there, and we grabbed a quick one before they closed down. [Homer voice again] Mmmm...free beer...ohhh. [Homer voice again]
Now this is where you would think this awesome night would end, but not so. Curt and I decided to head down to Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub for a couple more beers and some conversation. It is a bar a few blocks from the arena that is owned by the radio broadcaster for the Wild and former North Star/Blackhawks defenseman. It's a really neat place with lots of hockey memorabilia. We were chit-chatting and enjoying our barley pops when a bunch of people started gathering around a guy, and were asking for pictures. Curt said, "Hey, that's Chico Resch." I didn't recognize him at first, because I've only seen him on old hockey cards. Apparently, he used to play for the Devils and is now part of the TV crew. He does a segment on New Jersey broadcasts called "Chico Eats" where he checks out all the stadium food. After the other people left him to his glass of wine, Curt and I went over to chat with him. He was really nice, and very chatty. For some reason he said I looked like I was Czech. I found this to be pretty funny since I'm a whole bunch of different nationalities, and none of them are Eastern European. We kept gabbing for a while, and eventually we moved toward the back of the bar where there is an old picture of Tom Reid taking a penalty shot against Ken Dryden. Tommy came back and joined the conversation with us. Unknown to me, that was the only penalty shot ever scored on the great Dryden. It was really cool talking old time hockey with those guys, and very nice of them to not to give us the cold shoulder. I'm sure it was because Reid has seen Curt at games many times. It was getting late, so Curt and I asked for a picture with Chico and thanked those guys for the stories. We ended up leaving the bar at about 12 a.m., and Curt still had the long drive home. I think he took the next day off, but I wasn't so lucky. It was tough getting up in the morning, but it was well worth it!
I can't thank Curt enough for this truly amazing experience. It is something I will never forget. Keep an eye on your mailbox, bud. I'm sending you a little something in appreciation. Feel free to add anything I forgot. For those of you who made it through the mountain of text, thanks for hanging in there.
