Jessica Belmosto

There’s nothing I love more than the atmosphere at a live hockey game. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the balcony or right on the ice. Hockey fans are some of the most insane people I’ve ever met. Okay, maybe insane isn’t the right word. Passionate is definitely more like it. The crowd goes nuts over everything. There’s nothing like a goal celly to get everyone on their feet and making noise.

Monday night I had the pleasure of experiencing this in person. My friend Jess and I ended up at a Bruins game for her early birthday present!It was planned weeks in advance but we’re the most impulsive people you’ll ever meet. We decided to upgrade our tickets from balcony to loge, seven seats from the ice…. right as the doors were opening. It was a bit emotional walking down to our seats. We knew we were close but I didn’t expect to be that close.

I wanted to sob. I’ve only ever sat in the balcony so being this close was a bit overwhelming. It was like sensory overload.

Once the puck dropped, I was all in. When shitty plays were made or we let up a goal, had a to keep reminding myself that the Bruins are basically an AHL team right now. We’re missing key players and that injury list is just getting longer and longer. I don’t like to single players out BUT holy smokes, I wanted Carlo off the ice. It was so frustrating watching the defense disappear. McQuaid makes me nervous. He’s injury prone and he just doesn’t have a spot on this team anymore.

On a very positive note, Ryan Donato made his NHL debut. I was excited to see how well he meshed with his new teammates. I’d say it went pretty well. He scored his first goal and had two assists. The crowd went nuts during the celly. Once the camera panned to his family, it got even louder. Hockey fans are like no other.

The game went into overtime and well, I almost lost my mind. If you know me, overtime and I don’t mix. If you watched the game you saw where the game went south. It was as soon as the ref turned a blind eye. Marchand is a dirty player, okay? Apparently, making a call in his favor would be enabling him or something. It was INFURIATING. Moments like that make me grateful hockey games aren’t a family friendly environment. The defense put on their invisibility cloaks and decided to not play for the remainder of the game. The Bruins lost but hey, at least we’re a point closer to catching Tampa.