Miiiiwaukeee

Last Sunday was the Admirals/IceHogs game. I figured I should see the Admirals and IceHogs at their home arenas at least once before I move away since they are not too far away. (Both are three hours away.) I had never seen the IceHogs before, so I figured last week would be a good time to venture up to Milwaukee to see them face the Admirals. Wise decision, maybe if only because at 6:22 I got a call from work saying they really needed help. I have never been happier to report SORRY. I'M OUT OF TOWN. Ahaaa. Unwise decision? Buying tickets online. I read somewhere that games sell out quite often, so I wanted to be safe and secure my tickets instead of driving three hours and being told all the tickets are gone. Upper level tickets were 3 dollars as some sort of special deal, so I figured I had better be safe than sorry (even though I got lower level tickets!). So, those ended up being $25 with fees. Ok. I also bought a parking garage ticket because I thought, Well, since I'm here... and thought it would be such a grand idea to save time by ordering it online. NEVER AGAIN. After driving around the same block three times looking for Bradley Center, I finally saw it one block ahead from where my gps was telling me to turn. Ugh. I thought the garage was to the right of the Center, but really it was behind it, and I only found it because I was about to circle the block to look for it. Anyway, the lady at the gate said I still owed $10 but I'd get it back after the game. Like, parking validation I guess? Well, I DIDN'T GET MY MONEY BACK AFTER THE GAME. Paying for the ticket online was $11, so with that extra $10 ripoff, I paid $21 for parking. The only reason I didn't go apeshit was because there's this woman at work that frequently tips us, so I know I've made over $10 from her, so it's like I didn't really lose $10 because of this terrible parking attendant.

ANYWAY... The game! I got there an hour early and actually got to see the teams practice! Both teams were wearing colored jerseys, which I really liked. I love the Admirals' black jerseys, but they decided to wear the blue ones. The IceHogs wore their black jerseys! It was a very pretty game. Ha ha :D I kind of wanted to cheer for the Hogs, especially since no one was sitting near me, so I wouldn't get boo'ed or anything, but I ended up clapping for the Ads instead. They were winning, so why not.

After one period, it was 5-1, Ads. Richards got pulled and Toivonen was put in for 2-5 minutes before Richards was put back in. Yikes. From IceHogs twitter:

Chris Mueller shovels in a rebound and the Admirals take a 1-0 lead just 3:08 into the contest.

Mark Van Guilder puts the Admirals up 2-0, 7:29 into the game.

Mueller and Van Guilder net their second goals of the night. Admirals up 4-0.

It doesn't say who scored #5, but I am guessing it was Halischuk because he was one of the stars of the game. Beach scored the lone goal in the first period; Taffe in the second --

The second period is over. Hogs trail the Admirals 5-2. Kyle Beach and Jeff Taffe with the IceHogs goals.

A few fights broke out in the third and understandably so, if only because the IceHogs were not playing their best game. If I remember correctly, the IceHogs had a lot of shots on goal, but Dekanich was just too good.



Ok, time for pictures! You can tell this was definitely not a sell-out crowd.





I saw on the bigscreen Dekanich had Dexter on his helmet, so I had to get a picture for myself. I used to watch that show all the time! Guessing his nickname on the team is Deks...



Klinkhammer! One of my favorite names!



I spy with my little eye... Blackhawks fans and Predators fans. Ok, fine. I spy with my little eye, Red Wings fans, TWO Rangers fans!, a Flyers fan, a Leafs fan...

I tried to get a good picture of Richards' mask, but I failed.

Ads win!

The Bradley Center was beautiful. Probably my favorite arena so far. Look at their jumbotron! It's sick! You could actually read things on it! During intermissions and time-outs they played commercials, some of which the players made themselves. Entertainment!

Speaking of entertainment, they really kept the audience occupied during down times. Not only was there something to watch on the jumbotron, but they had a lot of activities during intermissions. Shoot the puck at a freezer, kids "stay well to play well" rally, bowling, t-shirt tosses, a juggler (Albert Lucas. He was amazing!)! They had it all!