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| The King during warmups |
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| The Prince in Oil Country |
After the minor league game we saw in Calgary Friday night we drove to Red Deer to spent the next two nights during the "Faceoff in the Foothills" weekend as it was branded.
We woke up in the morning and we had breakfast at the hotel. They had quite a spread which included eggs, ham, waffles, cereal, fruit and yogurt. We loaded up for the big day ahead.
While we were enjoying our meal we got to see some families with their young kids who were getting ready to go play hockey.
Unlike here in the States, kids learn how to skate and play hockey once they learn how to walk.
We've been to Canada many times over the years and we always love the experience. It's a different culture there.
When you go to a hockey game in Canada you can really appreciate the game and the passion that these people have for it.
This trip was filled with plenty of hockey including a double dosage once we left the hotel.
We drove up to Edmonton aka the City of Champions as the welcome sign said to see the Atlanta Thrashers invade Rexall Place as it's called these days as they were visiting the Oilers in Oil Country.
Back in the day during the 1980's, the Oilers had their dynasty run with a guy named Wayne Gretzky aka "The Great One" leading the way. It was fascinating to see all those championship banners hanging across over one end of the ice.
These days they're a far cry from that as they currently have the worst record in the league.
Although things may be turning around in Edmonton soon since they had the first pick in the 2010 NHL Draft in June and they selected a kid named Taylor Hall who was only 18 at the time. He turned 19 in November.
During the game we saw, Taylor waited for the third period to start to show us what he can do. With the Oilers trailing 3-1 early in the third period, he scored three straight goals which gave him 20 in his rookie season.
As a result, he got his first career hat trick and since he scored three in the same period it was a natural hat trick. It reminded me of "The Great One".
The last goal he scored he was determined to finish in front of the net and he did. The crowd erupted as the Oilers took their first lead of the day. What a great feeling it was to see this young star on the rise.
The Oilers added another goal with just 12 seconds remaining as they went on to win the match, 5-3!
It was really nice to return to that old barn to see another hockey game.
The arena is located out in the northeast suburbs passed downtown which we drove through to get there.
There's been talk of them wanting to build a new arena. If indeed that eventually happens, I look forward to returning to see it someday.
After the game we went back to Red Deer to see our first ever Western Hockey League (WHL). The WHL is a Junior League.
We saw the Red Deer Rebels host the Kamloops Blazers at the Enmax Centrium which was a pretty nice size arena considering it was juniors that were playing.
It made for a nice hockey night in Canada as we completed our full day of watching hockey.
As for the game we saw, the Rebels led most of the night but the Blazers scored just past the midway mark of the third period which tied the game at 3 and forced the extra session.
The Rebels wound up winning the game 4-3 in overtime.
I fulfilled the King's need to go to another Casino in downtown Red Deer before we called it a night.
Sunday we got up and headed back to Calgary for the main event, the Heritage Classic.
Stay tuned as I go into further detail regarding that special occasion.
Thank you for reading and following along as I recap our adventurous getaway.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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