And Back to Hockey

I only got to see the last half of the Preds game last night, but I was very happy with what I saw. I found myself more emotional than I expected, and it was a pretty negative emotion. They killed hockey for an entire season! But all of that was wiped away when Kariya scored his first goal, and I remembered how beneficial the lockout was to fans in small-market towns such as ours. It was great to get an opening win against another a quality Shark team in front of a sell-out crowd, and to see how our speed truly does fit the new game well.

I love the changes that have been made to the game. There will be less pointless skating around as there are less restrictions on passing. The offensive zone is much larger, allowing for cleaner passing and far more creativity. I'm not so sure about limiting where a goalie can touch the puck, but we'll see about that. And I'm excited as can be about shootouts. One of the most exciting sporting events I have ever seen was a hockey shootout... for the battle of Mississippi. Biloxi vs. Jackson. The crowd was electric, into every shot, and noticeably disappointed when they the home team lost. Hockey's made a lot of positive changes and should be just fine.