STL, MO

Yesterday morning, my family and I left Cedar Rapids for St. Louis, Missouri. It was finally time to use the tickets I bought my brother for his birthday. We were going to my very first NHL hockey game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues. I was incredibly anxious to get on the road because I knew if we wasted time, we would be late to the game and I wanted to see my favorite player during warm ups. We left our house and stopped to eat. Ugh. After we wasted 15 minutes eating, we left and stopped at a gas station to fill up. Ugh. Finally, we were on our way.

The drive to St. Louis takes about four and a half, maybe five hours depending on traffic, who is driving, and the number of stops that need to be made. Fortunately for my family and me, we were in fast paced traffic and didn’t stop more than twice. We made it to the hotel just in time to check in, get ready to leave, and go. We stayed at the Marriott at the St. Louis Airport. The name alone implied a hint of prestige in the hotel. Many business people stayed here on a regular basis when they fly in to St. Louis or before flying out. Despite the pool and hot tub being closed while we were there, the hotel was amazing. It was also apparently the hotel to stay at if you were a Blackhawks fan. Lucky for us, we are Blackhawks fans so we fit right in.

We had dinner in the bus station across from the Scottrade Center where the game was held. The bus station had KFC, Pizza Hut, and a deli to choose from. Not much selection, but we didn’t have much time. After we finished eating, it was about 6:10pm. We headed across the street to go in to the arena. Because the game started at 7, we didn’t want to miss warm ups nor did we want to be late to our seats.

We waited down by the glass for warm ups in hopes to see some of our favorite players: Toews, Hossa, Kane, and Sharp just to name a few. It wasn’t long before I realized none of these players were on the ice and instead, many names I didn't recognize were dressed and warming up for the game. I frantically went to the official Twitter of the Blackhawks and found out 15 players were resting for playoffs. I kid you not, I cried. I should have known then the night was going to be bad.

Our seats were fantastic. We were in a position to see the entire ice and see when the puck crossed the goal line on one side. My family and I quickly realized many players were called up from the Rockford Ice Hogs, the Blackhawks second team. The Blues won the game 3-1 which, although upsetting, didn’t really matter. The Blackhawks still won the President’s Trophy and home ice advantage for playoffs. I had a lot of fun with my family in St. Louis and I think we will be going to more NHL games now because of the great time we had at this game.

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