Bears and Snakes

 

Standing for the anthem in Poughkeepsie

The long day was a drive away from being over.

Two games. Six periods. Over five hours on the air. Plus, an hour-plus drive and still another one before I'd be home.

But I was hungry.

On a day like this, preparation means having some food and drink available.

A day like this is a marathon.

So there I was, in a place that I didn't want to be at a time I didn't want to be there.

McDonald's at 11:30 p.m.

I just needed some French fries and maybe a few McNuggets. It was sufficient for the drive home.

Oh, I had eaten earlier, grabbing an appropriately named "Bruin" sandwich in Greenwich. Brunswick, if you don't know, is called the Bruins and the sandwich had chicken and cheese and bacon and BBQ sauce.

And Brunswick was the first stop, as the Bruins played Hill School. The Bruins blasted Hill on Friday night in Pennsylvania 8-2. Saturday's game was a closer affair as Brunswick jumped out to a lead before Hill closed the gap.

A late rush by Hill resulted in a turnover and the Bruins snagged an empty-netter for a 5-3 win.

A quick pack up ensued for me and I was on the road to Poughkeepsie.

It's a drive of few moving parts and traffic was calm so I cruised up into the Hudson Valley.

I stopped in Lagrangeville at a Dunkin (Donuts) for a fuel-up cup of coffee. 

I supposed, in hindsight, that I should have grabbed a bite but, frankly, I wasn't hungry. Plus I knew there would be a snack bar in the arena.

A few minutes later, I parked at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center and walked down to the entrance to the McCarnn Ice Arena. Everyone -- every member of the staff  -- was welcoming and helpful. The Hudson Valley Vipers were within two hours of playing their home opener.

I heard it several times -- "Thanks for being here" -- which was great encouragement.

Now it was time to set up for the first official home game in Hudson Valley Vipers history. Their opponents were the Boston Gold Kings.

The press table

The arena doesn't have a press area so we had to create one. With wifi quickly secured, a table was rounded up and placed in the first row of the VIP section. I'd have to call this one sitting down because to stand up would mean blocking the view of fans.

I wrote yesterday about concocting the rosters from scraps of information and, overall, those turned out to be fine. There were minimal hiccups. But information was so limited otherwise. Still, as a native of the Hudson Valley, I knew I could use a ton of background info to fill in as necessary.

I also had allies with me, as my cousin Kris, his grandson Logan, and friend Danny joined me. Coincidentally, they bought tickets before I confirmed that I was going to call the game. Honestly, if I needed food that badly, they could watch the equipment for me to run to the snack bar.

That wasn't necessary.

The night wasn't perfect, nor did I expect it to be. The limited information meant my tired brain needed to work harder, especially during the downtime. The intermissions were interminable and I elected to stay live, playing some public service announcements to break up the monotony.

In a perfect world, perhaps we could have interviewed a player or team official, or even the mayor of Poughkeepsie, who was in attendance to drop the ceremonial first puck.

The hockey was good with the Vipers getting their first lead late in the first period on a right circle wrist shot by Patrick Sullivan. Yet there was an edge as players from both teams were sniping at each other as the period ended.

That edge rolled into a rollicking second period, as both teams scored almost at will. Eight goals and myriad penalties went on the scorecard in the frame. The Vipers led 6-3 after the second stanza.

Of note was two more goals for Sullivan, marking the first-ever hat trick in Vipers history.

Then it was time to play the feud. The score became almost immaterial -- the Vipers scored three more times -- as fans anticipated some hockey fisticuffs.

They weren't disappointed. Several scraps broke out, into a battle in the near side right corner as enforcer Sal Safonte landed a collection of haymakers. He'd eventually get ushered to the penalty box and played to the crowd the entire time.

Later on, he was tossed off the ice. However, unlike so many other levels, he didn't head back to the locker room. 

Sal Safonte (#4) and Brett Beigert (#26) stand near fans 
after being removed from the game

He, and the others, stood on the stairs into the stands, urging the crowd to make more noise and accepting handshakes from the rapturous crowd.

When it was all over, the Vipers had a 9-3 victory -- the first in team history. 

And it all aired on Robcasting.

After the game, Sullivan handed Logan his game stick and, eventually, he got it signed by what seemed like the entire Vipers team.

A happy Logan with his stick and puck, courtesy of the Vipers

In the area below the booth, players mingled and signed autographs.

That's minor league sports. It's so affordable and fan-friendly. It's also rough around the edges. Sometimes it unfortunately becomes bigger business as it gets more popular and teams have to take appropriate measures. But this team is as "regular guy" as you can get. The players are salesmen in their own right. Fans walk to and from the parking lot with them.

It's no-frills, but there was a palpable excitement for what turned out to be a huge crowd.

For the second time in the day, I packed the equipment and headed for the exit.

Escaping Poughkeepsie, I made the stop at McDonald's before getting on the Taconic Parkway for the drive home.

Oh, it was a long night and I was exhausted when I made it back to Greenwich but I accomplished what I wanted to.

I felt this was historic and it needed coverage. However long the team plays they can now have the audio of these first moments if they want. Maybe they use it on highlight reels or in team promos. That would actually be great.

The game -- in all its "ad-hoc" glory, can be heard here. It can be better, of course, and it will be better. The team and I can work together to make it better with better information. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Will I be back for future games? Probably, especially if Kris, Logan and, yes, Danny are there (it's required that one gives Danny grief for simply existing. I don't make the rules.). 

Maybe I'll work in an analyst (Dan Murphy, just sayin').

But fans should come out and enjoy this. Make it a happening.

I don't like snakes.

I like the Vipers.