Report from Penguins Training Camp

Today I did something that required a bit of restraint, but more importantly required me to die a bit inside. I decided that, for the sake of reporting and getting photos, I would go to Mellon Arena to visit the Penguins' open training camp session- without any Flyers gear. And, as you're about to see, it was much, much harder to do than I expected...

Here's the rundown of time there:

11:50- Arrived at Mellon Arena
11:52- While walking up ramp, I look down and saw Ruslan Fedotenko getting into his car, less than twenty feet below me. I gritted my teeth angrily, because Fedotenko is my least favorite athlete on the face of the earth. This is due to the fact that Ruslan Fedotenko never managed to play well during his time as a Flyer, yet managed to play quite well after that- especially when facing the Flyers in huge games. In my mind, I was yelling obscenities, but in reality, I was just getting out my camera in the hopes that I'd catch the next player on camera.
11:55- I see none other than Sidney Crosby walk out of the garage, towards a mass of waiting fans. I ran down the ramp towards the street trying to get get good shots of him. I even snapped a couple pictures on my phone to send to some of my friends and family. Sid signed a few autographs, and then pulled a guy in a wheelchair aside to give him a special autograph and photo session. After that he got in his car and left, while one crazy guy ran on the sidewalk alongside his car (I don't think he even wanted an autograph- rather, it seemed like he was just chasing a car like a child will occasionally do when their parents pull out of the driveway and go to work).

12:03- I just miss Marc-Andre Fleury, but I snap a shot of his sports car revving its engine as he heads out. I also see a few other players as well whose faces I can't identify.

12:19- I enter the arena through Gate 1 and spend about ten minutes trying to figure out what tickets are available for a couple of the Flyers games there

12:23- I enter the stadium bowl and see the inside of Mellon Arena for the first time in my life.

12:23- Players take the ice, and begin warming up for a scrimmage. The key players that were still there (i.e. those who were in the afternoon practice group) included Evgeni Malkin, Bill Guerin, Kristopher Letang, Brook Orpik, and Mike Rupp.

11:53- I leave the stadium bowl for a bit, and head back to the box office to buy tickets for the final Flyers vs. Penguins game of the season, which is March 27th at 1:00PM in Mellon Arena. When I return, the scrimmage is already underway. There are now hundreds of fans in attendance, with some scout scattered among them- easily identifiable in their dressy clothes, holding copies of the Penguins' roster in their hands.
1:13- Finally, a goal is scored (click to see the video), which I had wanted to see because I wanted to hear the goal horn and goal song. However, neither sound is heard (which I suppose is to be expected as a scrimmage). Nevertheless, I left feeling that the visit had been a success, as I had kept cool and done some good old reporting.

So, overall, it was a great few hours, and it wasn't as hard as I had expected to enter the building that hosted so many of the "Top 10 Most Painful Moments" that we're in the midst of counting down here at OBG.

"Top 10 Most Painful Moments" Introduction / #10: Sykora's Called Shot

Welcome back to the "Faceoff Spectacular" here at OBG (which is, for those of you kids who forgot, or who were in the bathroom for our first two posts, the Orange, Black, and Gold blog). As promised, it's time to get going on one of our top pre-season features, the "Top 10 Most Painful Moments" from the Flyers/Penguins rivalry over the past couple years. Now, the fact that they are all painful to Flyers' fans isn't because the Flyers have been the lesser of the two teams over the past couple year- at least I think that isn't the reason...

Anyway, just a few notes before we begin. Every lovely clip will be accompanied by a video, from either nhl.tv, YouTube, or another lovely provider of years worth of life-wasting videos. In honor of those of us whose browsers can't handle over a dozen embedded videos at once, the videos will be posted as links. Feel free to comment, and make sure to check back often, because these posts are going to be going faster than the issue of GQ with Sidney Crosby shirtless (although that's not really a hard feat to accomplish...):


#10: Sykora's Called Shot

I, for one, am a fan of hockey above all other sports because of the unique emotional outpouring that a goal can provide- especially playoff overtime goals. Series winning goals are even better. However, nothing can compare to the sight of a cup-winning goal. In 2000, I was in third grade, and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, with my dad sleeping on the couch next to me, hoping the New Jersey Devils, up 3-1 in the series and playing at home, could win the cup in overtime. I didn't even care that the Devils, who had just shockingly overcome a 3-1 deficit to knock off my Flyers in the Conference Finals, would win the Stanley Cup if they scored. That's how badly I wanted to see it. The game went three overtimes, and Mike Modano killed my hopes by scoring a lucky goal in the third overtime to win it for the Stars. The next night, I was deemed too tired to stay up, and I missed Jason Arnott winning the Stanley Cup in double overtime for the Devils.

In 2008, I faced virtually the exact same situation, but everything was flipped. It was the Detroit Red Wings up 3-1 to a hated rival team of mine, this time the Penguins, and the Red Wings were trying to win the cup at home. The Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 lead, much to my dismay, thanks to goals from Marian Hossa and Adam Hall. However, the Red Wings came roaring back in the second and third period, scoring three goals of their own. The fans became counting down, until, somehow, Maxime Talbot tied the game with 34.3 seconds to go. Now, believe it or not, I didn't mind- it made for fantastic hockey, and I love a thrilling game. Besides, I didn't think the Penguins had a chance in the series, and now, I had a shot at potentially seeing a cup-winning overtime goal at home.

I again found myself battling to stay awake into the wee hours in the morning, but this time things got too interesting for me to even consider falling half-asleep. Penguins' winger Petr Sykora actually knocked on the glass next to NBC Inside the Glass reporter Pierre McGuire, and told him that he would get the winning goal. I thought he was insane, and I couldn't wait to see his ludicrous statement double the pain of Penguins fans if and when they lost. However, for the second time in my life, a third overtime goal dashed my hopes of seeing a cup-winning overtime goal live. The Penguins got a four-minute power-play, and just 35 seconds into it, the prophecy came true. Sykora scored on a bullet shot from the point, and my whole dream came crashing down. It couldn't have happened in a more embarrassing way- not only was I not going to get my playoff overtime winner, but the Penguins had gotten a miraculous victory that validated them as a top-tier team and kept them alive in their cup hopes. In addition, they had done so on a called shot. So, essentially, instead of just wishing that the Penguins lost the game 3-2 instead of tying it, I wanted the game to continue. It was a classic case of "be careful what you wish for," and it was a sour feeling to say the least. And, to make matters worse, it wouldn't be the last time (stay tuned to find out what on earth that means)...

Next Time on "Top 10 Most Painful Moments": Even further evidence as to why three is my unlucky number...