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How I Spent My Easter Vacation Thursday afternoon was spent racing to the doctor's office, then to the pharmacist to have three prescriptions filled to help me get rid of this chest/head cold thingy. But, that's really not the exciting part of my vacation. |
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The exciting part of my vacation was going to the Stars' round 1 playoff game 5 vs. Edmonton Oilers. Woo! How exciting! It was my first time going to a Stars game! I was pumped!! We were sitting in the upper deck (nose-bleed seats). My sister got us discount tickets through work, so I ain't complaining. Even the nose-bleed seats cost a small fortune, and we got the tix for $13.00 apiece! It's kinda nice having a family member who works for the organization that owns the Stars. :) Anyway, after surviving the parking nightmare, we got to our seats just in time to see the initial face-off. The arena was packed, and the atmosphere was one of expectation. I think that every fan just knew the Stars were going to win the series that night and eliminate the Oilers. But, it wasn't easy. The Stars, who aren't really known for their hitting, took quite a few checks (in my eyes known as body-slams) but they also delivered quite a few as well. The first period ended in a scoreless tie. Both teams were pretty even in shots taken on goal, and both keepers were doing their job. |
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About 5.5 minutes into the second period, the Stars'Jamie Langenbrunner scored the first goal of the game. The Stars were on a power play and Langenbrunner managed to put one past Oilers keeper, Tommy Salo. Yay! The crowd went wild!! Then, Edmonton scored. Ugh. The crowd went silent. Later in the period, Derian Hatcher fired a rocket past Salo! Woo HOO!! The crowd went wild for a second time! The noise in the arena was deafening! And, the second period ended with the Stars leading 2-1. |
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The third period began and in the second minute, the Oilers scored again. Again, the crowd went silent, but only for a very short while. We were a little bit stunned that such a wimpy shot got past Belfour, and there went our lead. The fans continued their loud support of the Stars as they persisted playing a fine game and I actually felt sorry for Oilers keeper, Tommy Salo, when what sounded like the entire arena chanted his name, "Salo! Salo! Salo!" after each time the Stars scored. Several of the guys in our section had their own version of the Salo-yell, "So long, Salo! So long, Salo!" I was quite amused. Well, late in the third period, the Oilers mounted an attack and somebody in an Oilers sweater had a one v. one with the Stars keeper. The entire crowd took a collective breath and held it until Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour (who ROCKS, by the way) stretched out and made the save. Whew! We all released that breath we were holding and sighed. Except for the woman sitting directly behind us; she screamed like a little girl! I couldn't believe it!! I wanted to yell at her, "You can't scream like a little girl!! This is HOCKEY!!" But, I remained tactful and said nothing. Mind you, she chattered on endlessly and rather loudly about anything and everything throughout the entire game. I wanted her to shut up; she was making me nervous. Anyway, just a few minutes later, with about 5 minutes remaining in the game, Brett Hull received a pass from Joe Nieuwendyk and zinged a shot at the far side of the goal and the Stars score on Salo for the third time! It was incredible! The fans went absolutely crazy!! The noise was even more deafening than after the second goal! We were beyond ecstatic! We could feel that the Stars had just won the game! Woo HOO!! During the final minutes of the game, the atmosphere was electric! The fans all stood and hollered, making as much noise as humanly possible, and when the final horn sounded ending the game, we got even louder!! WOO HOO!! The Stars are one step closer to winning the Stanley Cup; Salo and his Oilers go home, their run finished. As we're fond of saying in Dallas: "The CUP STAYS HERE!!" Go, Stars! |
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