The Lambton Shores Novice LL Red team travelled to the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Saturday December 7th to play an inter-squad game during the 1st intermission of the Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers NHL game.
What a night it turned out to be for Novice Red as the kids first experience with NHL hockey had them participating in the game. To start things off; Lily, Adam, and Abigail were allowed access to the high-five tunnel where they high-fived the Red Wing players when they came out for their pre-game skate. Then the players and coaches got geared up during the 1st period so that they were ready to come on the ice at the end of the period. The roar from the crowd when they stepped on the ice was deafening, and it even rattled the coaches who were also allowed on the ice. Attendance at the game was a sellout of 20,066 and it seemed like every one of them stayed in their seats to catch Novice Red play. Although the game was short, it was full of action and when Brett wound up to take a slapshot as time wound down, the cheer from the crowd was loud and intense. I know all the players (and even the coaches) will never forget this once in a lifetime experience.
If you want to get a sense of what the kids saw at ice level, check out the video recorded from Abigail's helmet cam. I've included a link to the video on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P77Ueu2w4S8&feature=youtu.be
Abigail's dad also recorded the game from ice level. He's the link to his video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxRwjQb25Xs
Coach John