Jets vs. Hurricanes

On Wednesday night, I had the luxury of attending the preseason match-up of the Winnipeg Jets against the Carolina Hurricanes. Right here in Winnipeg. It was probably the worst possibly timing for me to sneak away to catch a game, but it was impossible for me to turn away the opportunity.

So after rushing through helping my neighbor load a tanning bed into his garage, I darted into my truck and sped off to the game.

Due to the last-minute nature of the game I ended up having to park quite a distance away, over at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. I ran full tilt the entire way, and once I entered The MTS Centre I was struck by the intense hockey atmosphere.

When I compared the atmosphere in the building to several of the regular season and playoff games I saw the Moose play, it didn’t compare. The atmosphere here was amped up. Jets jerseys everywhere. Smiles on everyone’s faces. It was hockey time. And the kicker was that it was only a pre-season game.

Near the end of the national anthem the cheering and noise was so loud you couldn’t even hear the words.

The Jets may be lacking so called “superstars”, but they aren’t lacking any heart, grit, or skill.

The Jets bombarded Hurricanes goalie, Brian Boucher early on. After several solid rushes in the first, it appeared as though the Jets had the game wrapped up early.

However, Boucher’s goaltending was superb throughout the first two periods, keeping the Jets off the scoreboard and the Hurricanes up by one. The Jets had already thrown 25 shots towards Boucher by the end of the second and still hadn’t solved him. The Hurricanes had only mustered up 13 shots on Mason by the end of the second.

Even though the Jets hadn’t hit the scoreboard yet; the massive crowd at the MTS Centre roared with excitement.

The Jets continued their attack in the third and eventually it paid off when Evander Kane scored on a rush towards the net. Shortly after that, Blake Wheeler added another tally to the scoreboard, pushing the Jets into the lead. Kane added another goal into the empty net to put the icing on the cake.

One word to describe the level of noise in the third period is: Intense.

“Go Jets Go” echoed throughout the building. Fans were high-fiving and cheering, it was clear that the return of the Winnipeg Jets really impacted Winnipeg in a good way.

The experience at the game was great and it’s exciting to think that it was only a preseason game. The only downfall of the whole experience was the guy who drove into my truck after the game.

But anyways, the Winnipeg Jets checked their way through The Outhouse this week and have left me eager for the next game.