Hockey Night In Vancouver

Because hockey is our game; because the Vancouver Canucks are in the finals of the Stanley Cup play-offs; because the CBC plaza was open for business; because it was a Saturday; and because it was sunny for the first time in months, Joe and I grabbed our sunscreen, threw several lawn chairs into the trunk of the car and joined the tens of thousands of Canucks fans to watch the second game of the series.

But as you well know, I can't enjoy anything on an empty stomach.  So the first order of business was to eat.  Thankfully, Joe obliges me in all things gastronomical.  

We didn't want to park too close to the downtown core of Vancouver, so we opted to leave the car in Chinatown.  How utterly convenient!  We stopped at the New Town Bakery on Pender Street for some spicy pork buns.

Freshly steamed pork buns.


We noticed that every waitress was wearing an Alex Burrows Canucks jersey.   Our waitress told us that Alex Burrows is the owner's favourite player and so she bought jerseys for each of the waitresses to wear throughout the play-offs.  Number 14 is everyone's favourite guy these days.

Hockey loving waitresses.


After stuffing ourselves silly with pork buns and all manner of dim sum, we hoofed it up to the corner of Hamilton and Georgia Streets to set up shop.  We put out our row of lawn chairs, plunked ourselves down and enjoyed the pre-game show.

It was like being at a rock concert!  Loud music, beach balls floating overhead, a sea of blue jerseys, colourful painted faces, hoarse voices, and smiles as wide as the sky.

Molly, Robin and their friend Andrew soon joined us.

  Fashionable fans.

"....and the cutest fan awards go to Robin, Molly and Andrew!"


We ran into the Dorosh family from Squamish Elementary School and they joined our gang of fans.

A family of die-hard Canucks fans.

The kids behind us were lots of fun.

This guy sat in front of us.  He was from Victoria and brought his own Stanley Cup.  His tinfoil-covered styrofoam trophy got a huge response from the crowd.

Get your face paint on.

There was good-natured rivalry between the Canucks fans and the few Boston Bruins fans.

The heat and the sun proved too much for Joe, so he wrapped his head in his jacket and had a little nap amidst the noise and revelry.  I admire anyone who can sleep on the fly like that.

Thousands of fans packed into the downtown core of Vancouver waiting for the puck to drop at 5:00pm.


Once the game began, everyone got serious.  Faces were glued to the screen.  The place went nuts when the Canucks scored the first goal.  Courtesy of Alex Burrows of course.

Go Canucks Go!

The mood became glum and sombre when the Boston Bruins were winning.  But those frowns were soon turned upside down when the Canucks tied it up 2-2.

The place went CRAZY when the Canucks scored the winning goal 11 seconds into the overtime period.  Alex Burrows....we all love you.

This young lady with her body-painted chest greeted us as we spilled out of CBC Plaza after the game.

70,000 hockey lovers packed the closed streets of Vancouver after the big win.  I'm sure the party went on into the wee hours of the morning.

What a fantastic day!  Thank you Joe, Molly, Robin, Andrew and the Dorosh family for making it such a fun experience!

Bring on Game #3.

*For more detail, click on the photos to enlarge them.