[killer_carlson]

Was able to get seats from JMN (THANK YOU SO MUCH) so my 7 year old and I left Edmonton at 3:00, met JMN at Peters Drive In then straight to the game. This was her first ever NHL game, so these are my observations of her.

1) The Saddledome looked great outside driving in. She was pretty excited to see it and spotted it as we drove into downtown.

2) Harvey the Hound is a huge hit. May have been her favorite part.

3) Johnny Hockey is a great nickname for kids to remember. Pretty excited that Glencross scored as well (because she saw him at the Stampede)

4) She was surprised there was no play-by-play guy talking during the game. She'd never seen a live game before so she was waiting for it.

5) Tough time following the puck.

6) Didn't quite understand why Quick got booed the rest of the game (after getting snowed in the 2nd), but understood that Quick's theatrics were over the top.

7) Loved the fire, loved the NOISE instructions, loved getting on the jumbotron. Pretty exciting when the game wasn't on. Stuff I would normally have taken for granted.

And most importantly, she loved that we won the game. She can go back to her friends at school in Edmonton and tell them that she got to go to a game and see her team win. That's not something many of her friends at school have been able to say.

My thoughts

- Not sure how any of the third line deserves to be dressed next game. Colbourne was terrible, even on the PP, and Byron and Raymond both should be put in the press box. Seemed to get a large number of offensive zone starts and were overwhelmed immediately. Raymond kept yapping at Stoll all game as well.

- Thought Wideman was solid. More physical than I thought he would be. Very good game and the best defender in my opinion.

- Disappointed that Bollig didn't tangle with Clifford. When you have the opposing team's tough guy challenge you around the ice on consecutive shifts, at home ice, when the second period is a dud, and when the opponent is starting to gain momentum you might want to do something to shake your teammates up.

- The 4th line got a lot of ice, but the credit goes #1 to Stajan, who was great, and to Bouma, who was very good. Not impressed with Bollig, except for his very short shifts (for the most part).

- Monahan looks great. Really strong. Love the pairing with he and Glencross. Jones....was ok.... but Monahan and Glencross were great in a checking role.