Roaming The Rinks

Looking back at my recent 3 arena trip to Quebec finds me reflecting on the highs and lows.  Of course a trip to the old Province means some delectable dining treats in the Poutine and some communication challenges in figuring out the language.  Luckily I survived and am able to tell the tale on these pages.  In the next couple weeks I will do detailed reviews of the 3 new arenas attended:  1- Pavillon De La Jeunesse in Quebec City,  2- Arena Jacques Plante in Shawinigan, and 3- The surprisingly fun and virtually unknown Arena Grand-Mere in Grand-Mere (loosely translated Grand-Mere means "Big Mama").  The trip was a success overall and also allowed for return visits to LNAH arenas in St Jean and St Hyacinthe for photos so I can do reviews on those previously visited arenas as well.  Now for the highs and lows:

Assist of the game-  thanks to hockeyfights.com poster Simon Fortin for the fun conversation during the Radio X game in Quebec.  It was a blast talking to him and you should all check out his webpage   http://ca.youtube.com/user/simonfortin2   where he posts videos of all of the Quebec Radio X fights.  (This is the LNAH, so there are plenty).  Again Simon- Nice to meet you buddy!

Game winning goal-  This award goes to the Arena Jacques Plante itself, as this ancient barn, which is in its last year of use in the QMJHL, is now my new favorite arena and the highlight of my trip.  I will save the details for the arena review, but needless to say this place exudes hockey atmosphere like few other places in the world.  Mark this place down as a must see, but do it soon as you only have until December of 2009.

Save and a beauty!-  After shuffling my hotel reservations to avoid a blizzard (I guess I didnt really avoid it, but was able to get a game in under awful weather circumstances) I am super glad to have visited the Arena Grand-Mere for some LCH action.  This semi-pro league is a feeder for the LNAH.   This barn was a pleasant treat as I had no information on the place except for the address, and had no idea what to expect.  Even the outside of the building did not elude to the fact that inside was as old school of a hockey barn as you will find.  The game experience was a blast as well, although not exactly family friendly as there were as many fights in the stands as on the ice.  Gotta give these fans credit though, they love their team.  The 7 mile drive back to the hotel in Shawinigan was white knuckles to say the least, as had I not kept my car moving through the blizzard like conditions and lightning I would surely been trapped on the roadway, as I found many motorist to be when I watched the news the next morning.  Scary for sure, but a memorable experience.

Now for the penalties:

Delay of game-  Well actually not delay of game, but delay getting to the game as I was amazed how bad the traffic is in Quebec City.  The 1.6 miles from my hotel to the arena for the Radio X game took exactly 47 minutes.  Much of the delay was at the Quebec Expocite itself, as they had horse racing also going on this evening.  Needless to say it wasnt much fun to sit in traffic however.

Roughing-  this goes to both the Quebec Radio X and their opponent the Sherbrooke St Francis.  Not that roughing is a bad thing, but the problem was that there was not a single fight in the LNAH game.  That is virtually unheard of in this most pugilistic of all hockey leagues.  An additional downer was that one of my all time favorite players, Curtis Tidball of the Radio X was a scratch, along with most of the tough guys for both teams.  I did get  a chance to shoot the breeze with Tidball, and we discussed his former home team my Elmira Jackals.  Still seeing him drop the gloves would have been more enjoyable than talking to him in street clothes.  You still have to give the warriors of the LNAH credit as the go to battle every night.  I just happened to catch them on an off night.

Game misconduct-  This goes to the LNAH for the weather cancellation of the game in Trois Rivieres due to the severe blizzard the night before.  I had no idea of the cancellation until I arrived at the rink, and by the time I found out it was too late to make a backup plan, so unfortunately this trip yielded 1 less arena than I had planned.

That's it for my brief recap of the Quebec trip.  Look for full reviews in the Arena and Roadtrip report section shortly.