I'm going to keep this brief, because my laptop is beginning to suffer catastrophic failures. Fortunately, in a few days I will be building myself a new computer (which I'll be using to stream some sports games at http://www.twitch.tv/revdonkbonkers.
However, until then, hockey season has finally descended upon us. The Providence Bruins had to wait a week to get their home opener and did so with a back-to-back Saturday/Sunday slate featuring the Rochester Americans and the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Game one on Saturday against the Amerks was an enjoyable game, and gave us our first taste of Maxime Legace, a former Vegas Golden Knights hand, in net. Our favorite keeper from the 2018/19 season, Zane MacIntyre has moved on and is playing for the Utica Comets right now. Dan Vladar returns as the 1A keeper and it looks like the early season plan is to platoon to the two keepers.
The PBruins had only given up one goal going in to Saturday night's game, but the Amerks potted the first goal against Legace this season in the first, forcing the PBruins to come from behind for a 3-2 win. Sunday's game did not go as well for the Baby B's. The Thunderbirds came in and mugged the boys for a 5-2 loss. Early standouts for the PBruins though are Legace, who made a very lucky save on a penalty shot with the knob of his stick. Josiah Didier won me over when he dropped the gloves against Rochester. He was fighting off his back heel and took a couple fair ones off the dome. But he popped back up three times and stayed in it without calling no joy and looking to the lineys for relief.
Anders Bjork also looks like he's on pace for a lot of minutes as Boston seems to be grooming him for a call-up at some point this season.
As far as the Dunkin' Donuts Center goes, not much, if anything has changed. The only thing I noticed were some more spotlights. But otherwise, it is essentially the same game experience as it was last season. I have not tried the concession stand (nor am I anxious to, the PBruins have the worst food in the division). But despite a bunch of new faces in the front office, the franchise's identity seems to be intact from last year.
We skipped buying our souvenirs on Saturday, because crowd (north of 7k fans announced attendance), but decided to pick up some chotchkies during the Sunday matinee. The total tally was a "Keep Calm and This is Where it Begins" logo puck (not a fan of the logo, but I'm probably going to end up with a full set of promo pucks), a mustard colored logo t-shirt I'd been hemming and hawing about getting since last season, a very small minipuck that my partner plans on putting at her desk, and a decal sheet.
We ended up with a bounus souvey about two minutes after getting down to our seats, when one of the boys managed to squeak a practice puck through the net, and it landed right next to us.
This isn't the first time we've gotten a warm-up puck. Last year at a PBruins/Checkers game, one of the Carolina players put one up over the glass and hit Amanda in the shoulder. So in two full seasons of going to hockey games with me, she has ended up with a 'game used' twice.
Now, I've been going to baseball games and hockey games since before cable television, and I have never caught a homerun or foul ball, nor have I caught a puck (both times the puck landed on Amanda, or at least next to her).
It's okay, one of these days I will slay my white whale and catch a ball or a puck...Just hopefully not in the face.
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