Great Night, Bad End Result

Alrighty, so we lost again. 1-0 to the Calgary Flames. No point in sugar-coating it. But irregardless of the final score, we did have an awesome time last night at the Bank. Here's how everything went down...

I got off early from work yesterday afternoon, so I was able to fit in a quick nap. By the time I left Quyon, I was fresh as a daisy. I travelled behind a dump truck going 70 km all the way from Quyon to the 4-lanes, so that made me crusty. I met Luke at the McEwan's in Aylmer, and from there we headed out to pick up Kristen at Carleton U.

That's when things kinda got interesting. Brother-in-law Chris had given Luke directions on how to take a "shortcut" out to Scotiabank Place to avoid all the lights of downtown Ottawa. However, the first line of his e-mail told us to take Colonel By South. South. South. Hmmmm...No signs were there to indicate whether left or right was South, so Luke went right. Apparently that was North. After a few minutes of scrambling for maps and trying to place ourselves in relation to the setting sun, we finally got turned around and headed in the right direction. (For future reference, don't ever ask me to be your partner if you make it on the Amazing Race, guys. I suck at directions. Luke caught me once swirling my hand around and asked what I was doing. I was trying to figure out which hand I write with, 'cause ya know, I "write" with the "right". Oh boy....)

Anyways, Chris' "shortcut" was a long, roundabout way that took us through cornfields and more cornfields. Rural Ottawa, I guess, but I thought for a second we'd taken a wrong turn and ended up in Saskatchewan. We did avoid the lights of downtown, though, and in the end, I think his way was quicker, if we hadn't gotten lost right off the bat.

We dined at Burger King on Hazledean, then made our way to the arena, and Luke guided us with his Angel Eyes. Yes, that's right folks. I have bad eyes, but he kept saying that he knew what street we were coming up to long before any normal human being could possibly read the sign. When I pointed this out to him, he said, "Yes, but I have the eyes of an angel". (Perhaps inspired by the song "Lips of an Angel" playing on the Rav's CD player at that moment, but I can't be sure.) I warned you before, buddy - say something that dumb, and it's gonna end up in the Blog.

I'm sure you're wondering when the hockey part is going to come into the re-cap, right? Well...that would be.........now.

The Sens kicked off the first period with a great scoring chance by Captain Alfie. I have no clue how he didn't score, though. It was a beauty of a play. Flames goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff was solid. Anyways, the first period was fast, there were lots of hard hits, and Ray Emery was hot it nets for the Sens. Being in the last row of the first level, we had pretty awesome seats, and I love being that close to the action. I could almost smell Wade's lilac-scented hair. The only other notable of that period was the crick in my neck that I got while trying to search two sections over for Kenny and Meghan, where Luke was positive they were sitting. I even picked a guy out that I thought was Kenny and everything, but Luke and Kristen didn't think it was him. Turns out, it wasn't, because Kenny had told Luke the wrong section that they would be sitting in and they were actually at the opposite end of the rink from us. Thank God they came to see us in the first intermission, or I might've had to wear a neck brace today.

The second period brought much of the same - hard hits, a fast pace, and good scoring chances for both sides. It definitely was a goaltenders' duel. I had fun watching this little boy sitting next to us. His parents were both Flames fans, and he was a Sens fan, so everytime the dad started shouting "Go Flames Go!" he was quick to start the "Go Sens Go!" chant. Even cuter was the little boy in front of us wearing a Sens jersey and a Toronto Maple Leafs hat - talk about confused!! I must commend the Flames fans at the game - there were quite a few of them in attendance, and overall they were friendly, polite, and funny. Not obnoxious like the Leaf or Habs fans I've encountered at games in the past. It was a great atmosphere.

I had a bad feeling when the third period rolled around and we still hadn't scored a goal. Ray Emery was literally standing on his head, and we were much better with our defensive coverage all game (especially Wade, who seemed to be getting his groove back), but the big guns just weren't lighting it up at the other end. I was nervous, and when I get nervous, bad things happen. Sure enough, with a little over 7 minutes left in the third, Jarome Iginla was left all alone in front of the Senators net, and a guy like that just doesn't make mistakes in that kind of situation. He put his team ahead by a goal, and even with two more power plays in the dying minutes, the Sens couldn't muster up enough offense to get one goal. Just one measly goal, and they couldn't do it.

So it was a disappointing end to what was otherwise a wonderful evening. Luke threw a hissy fit, saying he thinks it's our worst start to a season since 1993. And maybe he's right. But for too many years, we've had great starts and crappy finishes. I'm hoping maybe the reverse will happen this time around. That being said, a 1-3 record does not impress me. They'd better get it together Saturday night in Montreal, because they're digging themselves a hole that might not be so easy to get out of. I know, I know...it's only been 4 games, relax. Lots of time to turn the ship around. I've got my fingers crossed. There's too much talent on this squad for them to just fizzle like this. I hope Bryan Murray has a plan up his sleeve.

We stopped at new Tim Horton's in Aylmer on the way home, and I send out big kudos to the staff there. The girl at the cash saw my jersey and said, "Oh, please, tell me they won...tell me they won!" I was sorry to have to disappoint her. Then the muffin boy came out to freshen up the shelves and after he glanced at Luke, he said, "Another tough one tonight, huh?" I liked that they took note of our shirts and bothered to ask!

So the Blog is already really long now, and even though I did go home and watch Grey's Anatomy before going to bed, I'll spare you that re-cap until some other time this weekend. It was a great episode, though. You might think I should have been wiped and pass out the second I got home, but I'd had an XL Hot Chocolate at Tim Horton's...which means I was all hopped up on one big-ass cup of sugar, basically. It's taken a toll on me today, but it was worth it.

Anyways - thanks to all of you for wishing me luck at the game, and have a great weekend! Check back soon for a Grey's update, thanks to Stacy for filling me in on Survivor, and I'll definitely have my weekend rundown on Monday - Car Rally, Caden's birthday...lots to talk about!