by It is said that you can’t experience Montreal properly unless you attend a hockey game. Fortunately, there were a handful of tickets still available for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ visit to the Bell Centre to take on the Montreal Canadiens during our visit, so we snapped up a pair.
By the time the first puck dropped on the ice, the arena was pretty full, but within 15 minutes all 21,105 seats were taken.
We took the Metro from our hotel straight to the arena, along with thousands of other fans decked out in Canadiens jerseys. Interestingly, there was substantial representation for the Penguins and more than a few Bruins fans in the mix. Many of the Penguins jerseys were emblazoned with #87, the number of Sidney Crosby. More about him in a few moments.
To say that Montrealers take their hockey seriously is probably an understatement. The team was founded in 1909 and is the oldest professional hockey team in the world, and the only existing NHL club to predate the founding of the league in 1917. They have won the Stanley Cup more than any other team (though the last time was in 1992-93).
Locally, the Canadiens are often as the Habs, presumed to be after Les Habitants, the name given to the original 17th settlers of “New France,” but there is also conjecture that the Habs nickname was the result of a misinformed American who, in the 1920s, believed that the “H” in the Canadiens logo stood for “Habitants” (it really represents the H in Le Club de Hockey Canadien, the team’s original name). Regardless, the moniker has stuck around and is used frequently in the media and during games.
Who Is Sidney Crosby?
Crosby, captain of the Pens, is a Canadian hockey superstar. Born and raised in Halifax, “Sid the Kid” set junior hockey league records before entering the NHL at age 18 (!) as the overall first pick in 2005 by the Penguins.
In his first season there, he became the youngest player to ever reach 100 points in an NHL season, only to score 120 in his second season and become the youngest player and only teenager to ever win a scoring title in any North American sports league.
He is the youngest team captain to win the Stanley Cup, and has captained two Canadian hockey teams to Olympic gold medals and another to a world championship. And the records and trophies keep piling up!
Seated in front of us in the arena was a father and son. The boy, perhaps nine or ten years old, was wearing a Crosby jersey while his dad was wearing a Canadiens cap.
Throughout the game, they enjoyed a good-natured rivalry, each cheering for and chiding the other when their respective teams scored.
At one point, the Penguins goalie was knocked down near the net and took a few moments to recover and get back to his feet. In the spirit of hockey fan partisanship, Jennifer jokingly let out a “get up you big faker!” cry. Immediately, the boy in front of us whipped around and sternly told her, “He’s not faking!” A slightly-mortified Jennifer apologized and said she was only kidding, and fortunately the action on the ice soon required the lad’s attention.
Habs-Pens Game Recap
When we purchased the tickets, I checked the league standings and saw that both teams were about even in their division, so I figured that we would be in for a good match-up. And that was certainly the case!
Montreal skated to an early 2-0 lead before the Penguins’ Crosby scored to make it 2-1. The Canadiens answered with another goal on a power play to end the first period leading 3-1.
Crosby scored and assisted in the second period to tie the game 3-3. In the process, he moved up to 13th on the all-time NHL scoring list.
Neither team scored in the third period, so the game went into overtime, and then into one-on-one shootouts. Most of the crowd was still on hand to cheer on the Habs. As you can see in the attached video, each time a Canadien scored, the crowd erupted in a deafening roar.
Each time a Penguin started towards the Canadiens goal, the crowd started in with a low crescendo of booing that would turn into a screaming cheer if he missed, or instant near-silence if he scored.
Ultimately, in the 12th round of the shootout – yes, TWELVE ROUNDS!! – the Penguins won the game and skated away with a 4-3 on-the road victory.
Of course, I had a Molson lager while I was at the game (so that I could truly get into the Canadien experience). The Canadiens are owned by the Molson family, with Geoff Molson serving as chairman, so obviously this is the beer of choice at the game.
Our recap: we were both a bit concerned about whether or not we would be able to sit through an entire hockey game since it has been twenty years or so since either of us had attended a live game. But in the end, it was an exciting night out, and we felt like we were experiencing Montreal like a native. I was even eyeing up the Canadiens jerseys on racks in the stadium sales booths — but we live in a van so storage space is sparse!
