We arrived at the Press Entrance at the prescribed time of 6:30pm. Keeper Boy's teammate arrived at the same time. We all signed in and the unfortunate guy assigned to security unzipped Keeper Boy's and his teammate's bags and checked to make sure there was nothing in there but stinky adolescent hockey gear. Check. A Capitals staffer escorted us down the stairs into the bowels of the arena.
A funny side note: As we were going down the stairs, I had this weird feeling like someone was behind me. I finally turned around and there was Slapshot (the Caps mascot) decked out in a Santa suit and hat stalking me down the stairs with his arms raised over his head like Frankenstein. The kids got a kick out of that.
We got to the bottom of the stairs and started turning corners and going down halls. It's a good thing we had an escort because I have no clue where we were going. A photographer took a picture of the kids with Slapshot and then they all took off running down the hall. Hubby asked where the kids were a second later. I said, "Don't worry, they're with Slapshot." Only we would be okay with a seven-foot eagle in a Santa outfit watching our kids as they're running around the underbelly of the Verizon Center.
Anyway, when we arrived at the locker room the kids had been assigned to (after passing the practice court for the Wizards and Mystics), Slapshot was there (with the kids... not to worry). Keeper Boy unpacked some of his gear, and the coordinator gave us the instructions for when and where to meet. Then they took us upstairs via a super-secret stairwell, we got our Alex Ovetchkin bobblehead giveaways, and proceeded to our awesome seats on Section 104.
Most of Keeper Boy's team came to support he and his teammate (C.). Coach was nice enough to cancel practice... and he and his fiance came, too. Keeper Boy also had his own personal fan club in attendance. In addition to Hubby, J-Mav and me; my parents were there; my BFF and her Hubby, kids, and mom (Nanya) were there; and the family of one of Keeper Boy's teammates from his team last year was there. Oh, and we had friends who are season ticket holders sitting two sections over with two of their friends, so the inaugural meeting of the Keeper Boy Fan Club was 18 strong.
Only five minutes into the first period, it was time for Keeper Boy and Hubby to go to the appointed meeting place and head down to get dressed. I tried to concentrate on the game, but I could've made a mean cocktail had I had a cocktail shaker sitting on my knee with as much as my leg was jittering up and down.
The first period ended and all the sudden Keeper Boy and C. (and the two kids from the opposing team) were up on the Jumbotron. They had taken headshots just like they do with the NHL players, and put up their names and numbers. And the regular announcer for the Caps was announcing the kids and the rules of the shutout. SO COOL.
Rules:
- Three rounds.
- If tied at the end of three rounds, there will be a fourth round.
- If tied at the end of the fourth (OT) round, there will be a "sudden death" round. Because the other team won a coin toss and chose to shoot, the Sudden Death round would have the other kid shooting on Keeper Boy. If he stopped the puck, Keeper Boy's team won. If he didn't, the other team won. That's it. They had time considerations so it couldn't go on forever.
The other kids were shooting first. The kid skated down and Keeper Boy skated out to challenge. He had his glove up. The kid shot and Keeper Boy made the save. C. skated down and took a shot. No goal. End of first round: 0-0.
The other kid skated down again. The kid shot wide, and Keeper Boy just had to ensure it stayed wide. C. skated down and took his second shot. No goal. End of second round: 0-0.
Here comes the other kid again. Denied. C. skated down and shot the puck straight at the other keeper's chest. No goal. End of third round: 0-0. We're going to overtime.
Other kid skated down, and I don't really remember what happened, but the puck ended up in the net. Keeper Boy hung his hung just for a second, but then popped up and was ready to go again. C. skated down did a little deke and went to his backhand. SCORE!! End of OT: 1-1. We're going to sudden death. I thought I might throw up.
Remember, now it's all up to Keeper Boy. If he stops it, he and C. win. If he doesn't, they don't. The other kids skates down and takes his shot. Keeper Boy blocks the puck and turtles on it ensuring it doesn't trickle out and go in. RED WINS! RED WINS!! The crowd goes wild!!
Well, I don't know if the crowd went wild. I didn't notice much about what happened during the five minutes Keeper Boy was on the ice, other than what he was doing and what C. was doing. I didn't even realize that Hubby was on the visiting team's bench the whole time until we were home last night. I know the 50 or so people that were sitting right around us that were affiliated with Keeper Boy's team went wild, and our friends that have season tickets who were sitting in Section 106 went wild. That counts as a crowd. And they went wild. So there.
Keeper Boy and C. and their dads came back to the seats part way through the second period to appropriate applause and cheers and they were all grins. I think Keeper Boy (and Hubby) were still grining in their sleep last night. What an awesome experience.
On the way home from the game, Keeper Boy said that he really hadn't been nervous, but that he was aware of all the people (quite a few thousand more than he's used to at a typical travel hockey game), that he'd had fun, and that he'd totally do it again. He was interviewed by a camera man after he was done. Who knows what the Caps will do with that footage. But it was cool. There was a photographer there who is going to send us all of his photos. I can't wait to see them!
I was so happy and excited and proud for Keeper Boy. Outwardly he seemed very non-chalant about it. Calm as a cucumber. He went out there and he did his thing. And he ROCKED THE RED!! But Hubby said the enormity of it all seemed to have hit him a little bit afterward... that he looked like he was ready to cry when the cameraman was interviewing him. Like I said yesterday, for a kid who dreams of playing in the NHL, I can only imagine how exciting last night had to be for him. And I'm glad he had the opportunity to experience it. Who knows, maybe he WILL play in the NHL some day. But the odds are stacked against him. So if he doesn't, he will always have that night when he was 10 years old and he defended the net at the Verizon Center in front of thousands of people (and the Keeper Boy Fan Club)... and won!
As for me, my stomach STARTED to unknot after he made that sudden death save, but it's churning again just writing about everything! I kind of feel like I know might know what Michael Phelps' mom went through EIGHT times in Beijing last summer... I have no idea how she did it. Hats off to you, Mama Phelps -- I'd have had a bleeding ulcer after your son's second race!!
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