Understanding the two sides of hockey

After watching my first live hockey match, I came away with the opinion that hockey is equal parts grace and violence.

I date a woman whose family is very much into hockey. Earlier this year, I spent a few hours with her father watching a Stanley Cup playoff game at a Utah sports bar as we waited for a plane with my girlfriend, her sister and her mother onboard. Not long after that, a game of Settlers of Catan I played with her brother and cousin was interrupted as a Stanley Cup Finals matchup went into double overtime.

Prior to meeting my girlfriend, my experience with hockey was limited to the 1945 Disney cartoon “Hockey Homicide” and a weekend rental of “Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey.”

Last week, I had the chance to watch the Colorado Eagles, a minor-league team based in Loveland, Colo., play against the Utah Grizzlies.

Initially, this matchup provided me a little dilemma. Since Wyoming doesn’t have a pro franchise of any sort, we’re mostly forced to root for regional teams like the Denver Broncos, Utah Jazz, Colorado Rockies and so on. I briefly entertained the idea of cheering on the Grizzlies because I live closer to Utah, but ultimately decided to support the home team because I was in Colorado after all.

Going to a live competition brings about experiences only being there can provide. For one thing, all the overpriced food and drink available tasted amazing. This is probably because the excitement of an event heightens the taste of almost anything a person eats or drinks that much better. There’s also a lot of fan interaction a person doesn’t see during a televised event. A couple of rows in front of me, a young Air Force officer was the unofficial cheerleader of the section I sat in. His booming “let’s go Eagles” cheer could probably be heard throughout the Budweiser Event Center.

Also, the fan heckling doesn’t seem to get included on a broadcast either. Some guy behind me, I’m not certain exactly where, heckled the Grizzlies’ goalie Igor Bobkov throughout the second period.

“You got to keep your eye on the puck, Bob!”

“I bet you can’t spell Bob backwards!”

A lot of those one-lined barbs were thrown during that 20-minute period.

One of the aspects of the sport quickly impressed upon me was the balance of strength and agility required of hockey players. For example, one of the Colorado players was pushed down while skating towards Utah’s goal. In one smooth movement and while sliding toward the boards, the guy was able to quickly get to one knee and start skating in the opposite direction. Had it been me, I would have probably hit the boards, lay prone for a few moments as I try to collect myself, slowly stand while working to maintain balance on my skates, then skated off. It takes an amazing amount of focus to make that kind of recovery look completely effortless.

Violence and fighting are a part of hockey and probably inseparable from the sport. Despite moves by the NHL to discourage fighting and it being banned from local games, fighting and hockey are still thought of by some in a relationship similar to peanut butter and jelly. Even the cartoon I referenced at the end of the second paragraph, produced nearly 70 years ago, satirizes the more violent aspects of the sport.

There wasn’t a fight that night, but there was enough action to underline how rough things can get in hockey. One of the Eagles checked an opposing player into the boards behind Colorado’s goal so hard, the goal indicator fell from its mounting and nearly onto an unsuspecting bystander below. Near the end of the third period, another Eagle took an elbow to the face, resulting in a bloody nose. As he skated by our section, a drop fell from his face and created a small spot of crimson on the otherwise clear ice.

The most serious occurrence happened about five minutes into the game, in a blink and you’ll miss it incident that resulted in a Grizzly seemingly getting knocked out. I say blink and you’ll miss it because I missed what transpired, but saw the aftermath.

The player laid sprawled out in front of Colorado’s goalie and he didn’t move for a good half minute or so.

All in all, It was a fun time. Seeing a hockey match in person, without television breaks, leaves a different impression than watching something while sitting on the couch.

I think the experience of it all was worth the price of admission and for me, emphasized both sides of hockey.