The Hockey Game
On Thursday morning, we awoke to the sight of five inches of new snow that had fallen overnight. Apparently, that much snow in April is unusual, even for Montreal. We had tickets to a hockey game that evening featuring the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning. We aren't sports fans and we don't know anything about hockey, but as armchair anthropologists we wanted to see what it was all about, especially since hockey is something of a national sport in Canada.
Kids playing in the snow in outside of the hotel
As the day wore on the storm continued, with icy winds and blowing snow creating near-blizzard conditions. The arena, called Centre Bell, was less than a mile from the hotel, but we began to have some misgivings about walking over there. Bus and taxi service was disrupted, so we decided to walk a few blocks to the nearest Metro (subway) station and take the train.
The plan was to get there early and have dinner in the neighborhood before the game. Unfortunately, all of the affordable restaurants were booked up, so we had to make reservations at a place called 9-4-10, a gourmet steakhouse located in Centre Bell. The name 9-4-10 refers to the numbers of three famous Montreal hockey players. With entrees up to $80, we ordered from the low end of the price range and enjoyed the quality food, excellent service, and convenience offered by the place.
Hockey at Centre Bell
The game was a lot of fun to watch. We admired the speed, agility, and overall athletic ability of the players. There were at least four fights throughout the game, and we were amazed at the players' ability to be pummeled by their opponents and continue playing as if nothing had happened. Tampa Bay dominated the game and cruised to a 7-4 victory over the Canadiens. If I could pick one word to describe the experience, it would be LOUD! Between the crowd noise and the constant deafening "boom-boom" music, we were glad that we remembered to bring earplugs!