A couple of months ago, my friend Leslie got four free tickets to attend an Idaho Steelheads Hockey game. Her daughter had gotten them from work, but the people they were going with were sick and they had just gotten a new puppy they wanted to be home with. So, Leslie took the tickets and invited me and our neighbor Marleta. We tried to invite our other friends to fill the fourth seat, but they had other plans and couldn't go!
The Steelheads are Idaho's minor league hockey team. They are the 2004 Kelly Cup Champions and very popular in Idaho because of their community service and other acts of kindness they have done for the city of Boise and surrounding areas. Now that the NHL is locked out for good this season, and for who knows how much longer, hockey fans can get their fixes from minor league hockey.
Upon arriving at the B of A Center, Leslie, Marleta, and I got to our seats. After putting our coats in our spare fourth seat, I went in search of a food booth that served my favorite comfort food when watching sporting events - nachos. I found that booth on the opposite side from our seats and got my fix, along with a bottle of water that cost more than my nachos, about $3. Should have smuggled a bottle in my purse from home!
Our seats were in a good place, about two tiers up. For $28 a pop, they had better have been good. The B of A Center is a smaller stadium than I thought, so everyone had a good view of the game between the San Diego Gulls, the top team this year, and the Steelheads. The game was fast-paced, and the announcer kept the audience going with contests and other fun. In between periods, the zamboni machine scraped ice off the rink while another worker fired T-shirts into the crowd with an air gun. None of the T-shirts came close to our seats.
The game itself was a scoreless battle that ended with San Diego scoring the lone and winning goal with about 3 minutes left in the game. No hockey game is complete without a fight, and right at the end of the game, the two teams got into a big fight that was still going on as Marleta, Leslie, and I left the B of A Center. Boys will be boys!
I am not a big hockey fan, but this game was pretty exciting to watch. This comes from a girl who, if she was born a boy, would have been named Derek for the Boston Bruins great Derek "Turk" Sanderson. The B of A Center is located in downtown Boise, and there are many parking garages and lots in the area to park. Tickets can be pricy, but seeing our local heroes is well worth your time.