To help me get a hockey fix, since the NHL lockout continues, the Austin Bruins returned to town this weekend after a few games on the road. I went to the games at Riverside Arena on both Friday and Saturday, which unfortunately ended in back-to-back losses.
The Bruins have had a great start to the season and rose to become a first-place team in the Central Division in the NAHL with a 12-2-1 record before coming home this weekend. At 12-3-2, the Bruins are now tied with Brookings for first place.
I've kept up with some of the games through in-game updates via Facebook. It seems like the Bruins have had some nice comeback wins already this year. That's good and bad - good your team can make the comeback, bad it didn't have the lead to hold on to.
Shootout and a proposal
Friday, the Bruins lost 5-4 in a shootout to the Minot Minotaurs. It was a back-and-forth scoring battle throughout the game. A 4-4 tie at the end of regulation means a lot of offense, obviously. I can't remember seeing a shootout game at Riverside before, so that was kind of exciting, and reminded me of some of the shootout games I've been to for the Minnesota Wild.
One of the more exciting things that happened Friday was during the first intermission at center ice. It was the first marriage proposal at a Bruins game and in the history of the arena. I had the chance to meet Dan Swanson, who popped the question to Hillary Tapp, the day before the game and write a story about the proposal for the Austin Post-Bulletin.
I talked to the couple as they came off the ice, where they shared tears of joy and hugs with their parents. They were very willing to talk and share their moment with the media. During my interview, I asked Tapp what she loved about Swanson, and it took her a minute because she started crying again. It was so sweet. Swanson also teared up as I asked him to repeat what he told Tapp on the ice just before he asked her to marry him.
It was just a cool story to do, mostly because I hadn't done one like that before, and it was the first proposal at a Bruins game.
Effort falls flat Saturday
Still not getting my complete hockey fix, I went back for Saturday's game against the Bismarck Bobcats. For the first period, I got a different perspective on the game and stood along the glass on the south side of the rink. There were some hard checks right in front of me, which was cool.
Too bad the Bruins lost the game 5-1. It's tough to come back from a 3-0 deficit after the first period, with some quick goals close together. The Bobcats added a couple more in the third period after the Bruins scored in the second. If I'm not mistaken, all the goals in the game were scored on the north end of the arena, just for a little game tidbit.
The crowds have been coming out to support the Bruins once again this season. It's the third year the Bruins have been in town. Friday's crowd was 1,064 and 1,387 came out on Saturday. The community likes the hockey, and probably the fights, too.
I'll definitely be attending more Bruins games this season. They're a fun bunch to watch, and hey, it's hockey. What else do you need?
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