Hockey

I arrived just in time to catch the 3^rd period between Germany and Denmark. The seats I got were in the third tier, but it was good since I was able to see the entire ice surface yet still make out the numbers and names of the player’s jersey. It was weird since the rink looks a lot smaller when you see the game live compared to on TV.

Denmark ended up scoring the winning goal when the German goaltender failed to take the puck away with a poke check from the Danish player on a breakaway. The Dane got control of the puck again and went around the sprawled goalie and slid it into the open net. The game was better then I expected and the German’s pulled out all its talent to try to win the game but they couldn’t get the equalizer.

There was a 2 hour break before the next game between Canada and Ukraine. I went outside to the eating area and entertainment center to take a look at all the food venues. The official sponsor Skoda autos (I think an Austrian Car company) were handing out free pucks and flags. I went back into the stadium early and got to see Team Canada on doing their pre-game practicing. Since it was still early, I went out all the way to the very front and watch the practice. It was funny though, when practice time was over, Nash (Canadian Star forward) was the last one to leave the ice, and he took a slap shot from his end to the other end. Nash missed the net, but broke the glass behind it instead. Actually, the puck nearly hit the goal official (the official who sits in the bench observing the back of the net, and turns on the red light when a goal has been scored) who was standing on the other side of the pane and he was showered with glass shards. Because of that, the game was delayed form 10min for glass repair.

The game itself wasn’t that good, and it wasn’t the Canadians best game even though they won 2-1. The Ukrainian team was very good, especially the goalie. Both teams scored once in the first period and both goals weren’t that pretty. It was a tight checking game that no one predicted (The Sports betting booth set up in the eating area had Canada winning 5-1). Finally, the largely pro-Canadian attendance (me included) cheered when Nash scored the game winner in the third. Still, it was too close for comfort.

After dinner (I had Schnitzel again), I watched the Sweden vs. Latvia game. Since there weren’t that many people, I sat in the first row against the ice surface. That was the weird thing in that both the internet and the ticket office had said those 3 games I saw today were all sold out, yet even the Canadian game, the Arena was half empty. Sweden played a good game, and I pitied Latvia who had good (unknown) players but every time they got momentum, a player would cough the puck over and Sweden would capitalise and score on the ensuing play. Since I was sitting on the Latvia’s end, I saw a lot of Sweden scoring as they went on to win it 9-1 over Latvia (although the Latvian goal was really nice).

Using the map I printed out from Google Maps, I had no trouble finding Benni’s apartment again.