We went to our first NHL hockey game (Columbus Blue Jackets vs Buffalo Sabres)

in #hive-1470102 years ago



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@flowerbaby and I recently took our first road trip in several months. We have had this one planned since early September. Believe it or not, it was her idea for us to both experience our first-ever NHL hockey game. We purchased tickets to a Columbus Blue Jackets vs Buffalo Sabres game and then booked a hotel nearby and waited patiently for the Wednesday, December 7th date to arrive.

We were both pleasantly surprised by the fact that our hotel was absolutely amazing. Sometimes you pick a good place and other times it sucks. This happened to be one of our favorite hotels that we have ever stayed in. It was about 5 minutes from Nationwide arena. It was brand new and located within a little village full of new condos and a few businesses. There was free parking unlike most places downtown. The room was awesome and it was our first time seeing a hotel that had Google Chromecast on the tv. There was a well-equipped gym and indoor pool. Then we also were able to enjoy a yummy breakfast that was included the next morning.

This trip wasn't just about our hotel though, we came for some hockey action. Once we checked in, we went out for dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Our food was great and we had plenty of leftovers for later after the game. Before we left the restaurant, we took some photos of the massive Christmas tree outside. By the time we finished, it was nearly time to leave for the game.

Our drive to the arena was quick and we found convenient parking quite easily. The Arena District was a part of Columbus that neither of us had ever been to. It was a really cool little area and it was mostly walkable so we didn't have to deal with a lot of traffic.

We arrived at the security area of the arena and started to see signs that said no bags allowed. @flowerbaby of course had a very small purse with her, so after getting turned away at the door we had to walk all the way back to the car to leave her bag. It was pretty cold outside too, but we managed and eventually got back and were able to go inside finally.

We were pretty psyched to find out that our seats were basically perfect for what we wanted. We were right in the middle of the ice and up above the lower level. Our seats felt like we were on the edge of a mountain. We had an unobstructed view of the game and were able to see everything. We thought and also heard a few nearby season ticket owners say that they prefer sitting up higher rather than down low and behind the plexiglass.

I had probably never watched an entire hockey game in my life. I've seen some before and played some NHL video games over the years, so I knew how the game is played at least. Otherwise, neither of us had any knowledge about what was about to happen. Hockey isn't always full of goals, but we got lucky and were treated to a total of 13 goals that night.

The reason we picked the Buffalo game is that @flowerbaby has some family from Buffalo, NY and she likes their teams because of that (Bills included.) Both teams were at the lower end of the standings, but Columbus was the worse team of the two. This especially showed during the game we were lucky enough to be at.

Buffalo had a crazy first period and went up 6-0. Their leading scorer Tage Thompson scored 4 goals in the first period alone and 5 total by the end of the game. Both of these stats got close to a few all-time NHL records. Columbus eventually scored some goals, but by the time they did many of their fans had left pissed off. The score ended up being 9-4 and Buffalo won, which is what we both had hoped for. We loved seeing some hockey but did think it lasted a bit too long. At least we got to see plenty of goals and even a couple of scuffles between the two teams.

It was late by the time the game ended, so we just relaxed at the hotel. I somehow managed to get up super early like I always try to do when I'm back home. This meant I had plenty of time to get tested out of the gym downstairs before breakfast. I spent about an hour doing an awesome shoulder workout and some cardio. There was literally nobody else in the gym but me. This is probably the first time I've ever been in an empty gym, I liked it a lot.

I went upstairs to grab @flowerbaby after I finished. We both went down to eat our breakfast soon after. After we filled our bellies and went back up to the room and got ready, we both didn't want to leave. We liked this hotel so much that we joked that we wish we could live in it for a few weeks. Sadly we had to go.

We stopped at a few more places before we went home, but weren't in Columbus all day. Eventually, we had to drive back home, which was just over 2 hours and not too bad of a drive. As much as I love going places, I'm always happy to be back home.

I hope you enjoy some of the photos from our road trip and first NHL game.


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Hockey is one of those sports that is incredible to attend. Beth and I had so much fun when we went to our first game

I agree. I don't really care for it on tv, but seeing it in person is a lot better. I just love how brutal it is. It's the total opposite of soccer and all that crying over every damn foul.

You must have really had a great time there

We did, I'm so glad we were able to go.

Nice pictures @daltono

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Thank you so much, we always have fun together. I think you know this though.

Salute to the Buffalo teams!!!!!

Not a Sabres fan but a die hard Bills for over the past 30 plus years lol

Looks like fun, hope you guys had a blast!

!CTP

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My gf would agree with you, although neither of us has ever visited that far up north. Bills are looking good this year, but it was tough to watch my Dolphins lose to them last weekend. Sucks my two favorite teams are in the same division.

Early riser, me too! best time of the day when there is less people around. I still have not been to an ice hockey game but would !LUV to, looks so fast and skilful, not many opportunities out here in Australia. Did an NBA game last time I was in the States which was great too.

Getting up with the sun just makes total sense. Hockey is a sport where you have to watch every second of it for fear of missing an amazing play. Complete opposite or soccer where you just watch guys walk around half the time. I love both though.

Which NBA teams did you get to go see?

bulls v one of the New York teams Nicks I think went down the the last seconds to get a winner. got seats about 10 rows from the front, expensive but so exciting, back in 2018 before covid

That sounds pretty awesome!

an NHL game is great I have only been able to see certain summaries but I would love to one day be able to enjoy one and live

I'm happy to be able to say that I've finally been to one now. Next on my list is attending my first MLS soccer match sometime next year. I also wouldn't mind going to another NBA game soon. The only NBA game I've ever been to was ages ago, but at least I got to see a young LeBron on the Cavs versus an older Iverson on the Sixers.

You were in my hometown! I was born and raised in Columbus. The Arena District has become one of the best areas of the city.

Oh wow really? That's the closest big city to here where I am in WV. If I want to go to anything fun, it's usually up there. Too bad they don't have an NBA or NFL team though. I was very surprised about The Arena District. It felt like a city within a city.

Yes, I was born and raised on the Eastside, graduated from Eastmoor High School and went to college at Columbus State. I left for Minnesota in 1995. There aren't many things left that I remember from the old days, the city's changed so much. Have you ever made it to German Village? That's one of my favorite areas of the city, it's like a 19th century village in the heart of downtown.

Sounds like a cool place to grow up. I assume you enjoy Minnesota more though. I didn't know about German Village, but I see it's around some areas that I've been to many times. I will make sure to check that part of town out next time because it looks really cool.

I still like Ohio, my plan was always to move back but it just never happened. I built a life here that would be difficult to pick up and move. The Book Loft is a nice place to check out in German Village, a reuben sandwich at Katzinger's Deli on 3rd Street (one of the best on the planet), and a bahama mama sausage and cream puff at Schmidt's is also highly recommended. I wrote much of my early poetry in a little coffee house called Cup 'O Joe that stood next to The Book Loft (it's long gone now).

Moving sounds very difficult for me too.

We LOVE Reubens! I want to try it asap. Cream puffs are yummy too. All sorts of good recommendations, thanks, man! We will definitely visit that part of town next time we are up there.

Yeah, once you put roots down it's tough to move.

You're welcome! Oh man, you will LOVE the reuben at Katzinger's. Merry Christmas to you!

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I hope I would come along and watch some nice live match someday... Love in the air😃😃

It's a lot of fun, way more fun than we both imagined throughout most of our lives.

That's a normal thing, I hope you try it again

💪😊😎🤙🎅 cool!

That tree is so perfectly trianglely!

It's so funny.. typical hotel gym.. dumbells and cardio stuff, although that is a nice looking space and there are many treadmills/machines to choose from..

an early morning workout is super nice tho! :)

I should have known that this area would have the biggest Christmas tree in town.

The gym wouldn't be enough for everyday use, but I happened to be doing shoulders so it was perfect for that.

💪💪💪💪💪

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Oh Cute and a Mary Christmas to you both,such a fun time 😃 Congrats and hope you continue to rock it!

Thank you. Merry Christmas to you too!

but what was the experience of watching a live NHL game like? It's not one of my favorite sports but it must be exciting because of the speed and agility that must be used when skating in addition to hitting the Puck with the Hockey stick.

Hockey is far from my favorite sport too, but pretty much all sports can be entertaining. This particular game was full of exciting plays. There are 5 guys skating around on each team and then both sides also have a huge goalie. I am not a talented skater, so that alone is impressive to me. Then on top of that there was a lot of rough contact and some pretty amazing goals.

Nice dude I love going to hockey games I’ve been to a few myself and it’s always nice to do those things together being first times!

I’ve been missing the gym for sure. I went to one early this year at one of the hotels we stayed at and it felt great to get some decent weights in! The 20 pound weights at home are better than nothing but it’s difficult to do the things I want with just that lol.

Looks like you two had a great time as always!

Since you've been to hockey games, do you prefer sitting up higher like we did or down low? We didn't walk down there to compare, but I felt like the glass would get in the way of feeling like you are part of the action. No denying that having a guy get smashed up against the wall right in front of you is probably pretty cool though.

I don't think I could ever quit the gym now, I just feel so much better doing it regularly.

It’s tough for me because we have zero help from anyone in our families so I feel bad leaving my wife at home to handle our son who’s a lot more energetic than she is lol so I make due with stuff at home but definitely want to set up a home gym when we move to a real house so I can do the workouts I want without having to feel guilty.

Sitting up higher is cooler in my opinion. That way you can see it all better and it makes it feel like NHL 98 for me LOL the first hockey game I ever played.

I believe you in that man. Kids come first after you have them, I will continue to avoid that tremendous responsibility.

Having a home gym is a dream of mine too.

Bro you’re right! It did make it feel like the old hockey video games


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Hockey games one of the best games for the celebration seasons. And yeah nothing spiece a trip like a good hotel room to sleep in after been on the road for hours . I'm guessing the owners are not yet ready to make the inn public and just wanted a few customers I guess 🤷🤷