Sports Weekend, part two: Wild game

We continue the sports weekend extravaganza at the Xcel Energy Center where the Minnesota Wild played the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings.  This was a hard ticket to come by; fortunately, my friend Brian got tickets from his work, and took myself and his girlfriend, Jennie.

I walked to my seats, located in sect. 106, and again, was misguided by another usher.  I always ask if where I am is the best side to go in on so avoid walking in front of a ton of people; it’s one of the drawbacks of going to a live event.  As I’m walking through the row, I encountered two ladies sitting there.  Assuming they hadn’t seen me, I tapped the closest one on the shoulder and said “excuse me”.  She replied with a dirty look, both of them didn’t stand up to let me through, choosing the barely move their legs to allow me to get to my seat.  Thank you, ladies.

The game was very well played by both teams.  There were parts of the game where the Wild looked like they could not only hang with any team in the league, they could beat any team in the league.   There weren’t too many parts of the game where the Wild played sloppy hockey; this was one of their better efforts this season.  Josh Harding did a fine job in the net for the Wild.

The Wild trailed after one period 1-0, and that score held up through two periods.  The potential game changing moment occurred at the end of the second period, where Detroit committed two penalties: slashing and a delay of game, which led to the final part of the 2nd period and beginning of the 3rd period being a 5-3 advantage for the Wild.  They capitalized on the power play just after the 5-3 ended, tieing the game at 1-1.  Seconds later, Detroit committed a turnover in their own zone and Antti Miettinen scored, giving the Wild a 2-1 lead.  Late in the 3rd period, Detroit scored a controversial goal that was originally called a no-goal on the ice due to a high stick.   The refs chose to review the call on the ice and somehow overturned the call on the ice, tieing the game at 2-2.  Overtime was fast paced, but both defenses held strong, leading to the shootout.   Short summary of the shootout: Pavel Datsyuk scores a sick goal, and Chris Osgood stonewalled Krys Kolanos, Brent Burns, and Mikko Koivu; Red Wings win 3-2.

Thanks go out to Brian for hooking me up with the very awesome seats (and free parking).  Even though there is not a bad seat in the Xcel Energy Center, it’s nice to be close up to greatness that is the Detroit Red Wings.  The Wild did get a point out of the deal, and arguably should have had two.  If they can duplicate the quality of play showed today, the Wild will make a resurgence in the Northwest Division and compete for the division title; they’ll be fun to follow.

Tomorrow, part three of my sports weekend extravaganza will lead us to the NFL Playoffs at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome where the Minnesota Vikings host the Philadelphia Eagles.  This will be a close game throughout; but the Vikings should prevail.  Prediction: Vikings 27, Eagles 23.  Enjoy the game!

~Jason Douglas

twitter: @jasondouglas