Unlike American Football in Germany, ice hockey in the Czech Republic is popular and they have a really good league. When I looked up tickets and discovered that a seat right on center ice was only 190 crowns (about $8.50), it was a no brainer to take in a game. I mean, the crappy, scary, balcony seats at the Garden for a Bruins game are 10 times that. So, let's break this down question style again:
First, let's see you at the arena.
Happily:
Awesome, who was playing?
The matchup was HC Slavia Praha and HC Verva Litvinov with Slavia as the home team. Praha is how Prague is pronounced in Czech. It's a 14 team league and at the time of the game Slavia was in 13th and Litvinov was in 2nd. So, on opposite ends of the standings, but I was hoping for a good game.
The visiting team's fan section...
was bigger than the home team...
Did you get a good game?
Yes, but things didn't look good initially for the home team. They fell behind 3-0 in the first period. The defense on the third goal was particularly bad. A Litvinov player skated right up to the net, and the goalie noticed and tried to signal his defense for help but then that player was passed the puck and promptly buried it the in back of the net. The goalie slammed his stick in frustration. Things got better from there. They scored once before the end of the first period and the offense really woke up in the second and third. They ended up scoring six unanswered goals and winning 6-3.
Anything fun happen when a goal was scored?
The animation for a goal on the Jumbotron was entertaining. The Slavia train drives through the Litvinov wall:
Anything else cool show up on the Jumbotron?
Well, people got really into the kiss cam, but my favorite was when a penalty happened. You get a flash of lightning and then skeleton referee tells you the infraction.
If you are an avid hockey fan you'd recognize the signals. Of course if you want to have fun with Google translate, it's "hooking" and the more randomly worded "shoving the coverage."
Sweet Mascot?
Sure, I appreciated the crown continuity with the team logo:
Anything else odd worth mentioning?
Well, there were Hooters cheerleaders for some reason. Apart from a show during intermission, they hung out on the steps right next to our section for the whole game.
The whole game? What if you wanted to go get a beer?
Well, then tread carefully my friend and make yourself known. I came very close to wearing two beers not once but twice on my return to our seats. Beers, by the way are only 40 crowns which is less than two dollars so you are going to want to go and get some beers.
Finally, where is the Zamboni action shot?
I'll do you one better. Here's two Zambonis and two Skodas (a Czech automotive brand) on the ice:
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