Uncle D. and I began our journey at 11:00am E.S.T. The destination: the home of the dreaded Ottawa Senators. We were on a pilgrimage to witness a battle between one of the best hockey rivalries of our time. The Toronto Maple Leafs vs. the Ottawa Senators. The Leaf Nation was going to assault the Senator's Army that night, and we had front row (level 300) seats!
With haste and determination Uncle D. drove our chariot to the other side in great time. Just over 4 hours from door-to-hell (aka. Kanata ON.). Our first line of business was to scope out the arena. The first rule of war is to know your enemy, Uncle D. and I were just doing our research.
After many hours in the car we decided to check in to our hotel room for some much needed rest. We were two weary travelers trying to conserve our energy so that we could properly support our beloved Maple Leafs. However Ottawa was about to delver the first blow. Our room was not ready yet! They tried putting us in a non-smoking room with only one bed, and then shipped us in to an unwanted smoking room. The only problem was that it would take about half an hour before that room was ready. That was when we realized that this was probably a Senators fan trying to mess with our game. We rolled with the punches like the cool cats we are and decided to wait for the smoking room. This only gave us time to do more research.
We used our time wisely. We found a faster route to the arena, and found a few places to eat. We knew that it would be hard for us to get re-fueled in enemy territory, so we gave ourselves options.
We got back to the hotel and checked in to our room. This gave us a few hours to recharge our batteries. We watched most of the Edmonton game and put our beer on ice. The beers were going to be for either cheers or tears so we had to make sure that they would be cold.
The time had come to decide on a place to eat. Our first choice was Marshy's, a bar owned by Brad Marsh and located right in Scotia Bank Place. This would have been perfect but we were shut down by the powers that be. It was probably another Ottawa ploy to keep us down! We were smart though, and we had done our homework about our various options. One by one we were declined sustenance. Kelsey's, Boston Pizza, and Jack Astors all demanded at least a 30 to 45 minute wait. Eventually we ended up a Swiss Chalet. Not fancy, but it is good hardy food to give us the energy to cheer!
Game Time
After finishing our delicious meal Uncle D. and I made our way to the arena. Dressed in our beloved blue and white we were prepared to give morale support to our troops while they did battle on enemy ice. Our seats were perfect. Just to the side of where Raycroft would play for the first and third periods. Quickly we realized we were not alone. About a quarter of the fans at the game were Leaf fans. This was going to be GREAT!
First Period
The first period was a deadlock. Both teams had great chances and both goalies had to make great saves. The Leaf fans were effectively drowning out all Ottawa fans. GO LEAFS GO! GO LEAFS GO! Our energy was running high to say the least.
The between period game had two contestants. Their goal was to be the first to guess a player from the Ottawa team as one letter from the player's name appeared on the score board every couple of seconds. In true champion style the contestant in the Leaf's jersey beat the Ottawa fan in naming the player. Score one for Leaf fans!
Second Period
With all the Leaf fans still making noise, the beloved blue and white struck first blood. O'Neil went to the net on a decent passing play and was able to bank one in to the net. The place went wild! Toronto fans giving high fives, and hugging while the Sens fans had to sit there quietly and take it! 10 minutes later and the Maple Leafs were dominating. It looked as though we had a power play, but we didn't. The Leafs were making perfect passes, and taking plenty of shots. Then Mats Sundin showed patience and was able to get the Ottawa goalie out of position enough to score our second goal! It appeared as though the Leaf team was beginning to justify the arrogance of us Leaf fans.
Third Period
The third period has been tough on the Leafs all year. If games were only two periods long, we'd be in first place! The Ottawa fans knew it. I started getting heckled from the guy beside me. "This is our period boys, prepare to choke!" I ignored the taunts, but then the unthinkable happened. The dreaded Alfredson scored. Why did it have to be Alfredson, I would have preferred if the Leafs scored on themselves! That's the way the cookie crumbles though. About 20 seconds later another goal for Ottawa, but this goal was strange. Something appeared to be wrong. After some arguing and debate on the ice the officials thought it would be best to check the instant replay. Luckily the verdict was no goal! The Leaf fans cheered, but they knew that the wind was coming out of the sails fast. With about 10 minutes left in the game Ottawa got a goal to tie the game at 2. We just had to keep the puck out of our net for a few more minutes and we would at least get a point out of this. My Ottawa supporting neighbour was now becoming more vocal. I had to admit that things did not look so good, and explained that it wasn't easy being a Leaf fan, but faith gets us through the hard times. I felt a sigh of relief when I heard the horn ending the period. We were off to overtime!
Fourth Period
It appears that somebody has lit a fire under the asses of both teams! Speed was high and both teams were pushing for the win. Pucks were shot and saves were made at both ends. It was exciting hockey indeed! After the short overtime period we still had no victor in the match. We were heading for a shoot-out.
The Shoot-Out
I will admit that I was nervous going in to the shoot-out. Raycroft has been weak in this area all year long, and I had already cheered too much to handle a loss. This is how it played out:
ANTROPOV - Miss (I couldn't believe they put Antropov out there)
VERMETTE - Goal (Through the 5-hole of Raycroft. The chips were now officially down!)
VERMETTE - Goal (Through the 5-hole of Raycroft. The chips were now officially down!)
SUNDIN - Goal (This was a do or die goal. A save or miss would have lost the game)
COMRIE - Save (The crowd went wild!)
COMRIE - Save (The crowd went wild!)
KABERLE - Save (Kaberle, what the hell was he doing out there?!)
FISHER - Miss (He had beat Raycroft, but missed the net. Big sigh!)
FISHER - Miss (He had beat Raycroft, but missed the net. Big sigh!)
PONIKAROVSKY - Save (Good save!)
HEATLEY - Save (UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!)
HEATLEY - Save (UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!)
POHL - Goal (We went crazy)
SPEZZA - Save (WE DID IT, WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!)
SPEZZA - Save (WE DID IT, WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!)
The Aftermath
We triumphantly left the arena with our heads held high. Our efforts had been rewarded with a dramatic win! We felt like we had done our part to shake up the Ottawa fans. Through out the day we were driving erratically, speaking out of turn, and peeing on the toilet seats! It was time to go back to the room and enjoy some celebratory beverages. And that's exactly what we did.
The Video Evidence
