When Alec Martinez called and wanted me and few other close friends to be there when they had that chance, I was stoked! This is a once in a lifetime event so answering yes to that request was simple. (A little side note: I have always planned on being in LA on June 11 for a potential game six always assuming the Cup Finals would be a battle that saw at least 6 games; hopefully it will go 5.) Jumped on a plane Wednesday morning and by 2 PM the five of us (Bill Loupee, Jeff Zatkoff, Vincent LoVerde, Brandon Smith, and myself) were valeting our rental car under the arena and heading to LA Live to grab some food. It was a complete zoo down there making the atmosphere amazing with the Cup in the house. There were Jeremy Roenick and Barry Melrose sitings. Chants of "Go Kings Go" and "We want the Cup" were everywhere. LA fans generally get ripped for not be good sports fans, but I saw the exact opposite outside of the Staples Center.
With a game time of 5 pm PST, we went in the arena around 4 to purchase some beverages and see some of the warm-ups. It was electric in the building and you could feel the excitement as we talked with other spectators around us. As a group of guys that played/plays hockey, we had great seats up in the club level corner to the left of Quick. We could see the game as it developed and still feel the on ice action. Leading up to the drop of the puck was fully energized. The building was packed to standing room only as the music and pregame videos electrified the arena. The Kings entire player and game intro video is awesome and set the stage for what we had hoped would be the best night ever.
Let me say that the five of us before the game felt very confident the Kings we going to sweep to the Cup win. Quick has been in the head's of the Devil's players and the King's relentless pressure on offense would show up again to push them to the franchise's first championship. The Devil's truly have a good team, but the King's have played at a level well above anyone else in the playoffs. So again we felt confident when the puck dropped.
Seeing Alec on the ice with a chance to win the Cup was amazing. We all dreamed of it as long as we laced up our skates. Again, skating in the NHL is the pinnacle, but on the ice with the Cup in the building and your name could be on it in a few hours...not many people do that. We all had huge smiles on our face and felt all the excitement as the game commenced. No slight to everyone watching the games that have no hockey experience, but being with the guys watching that game made everything that much better. There's no explaining what happened or asking about nuances of the game. It was all nods of understanding and appreciating great plays all over the ice regardless of them being a scoring chance or not. Don't be mistaken, these two teams are playing at the highest level in the world on the most important stage for hockey. The speed and skill that each team has displayed is phenomenal and hopefully is appreciated by hockey fans everywhere.
As the game went on you could feel everyone getting tense. No score through two periods gave all of us the feeling that the next goal would be the winner. When the Devils got that goal it was so deflating, but thank goodness for David Clarkson's stupid penalty and Drew Doughty's PP goal. Staples was electric again and the confidence that the Kings were now going to win was back. We once again felt the momentum on the Kings side and felt the Cup close at hand. Then Adam Henrique scored one of the best goals of the playoffs kicking a cross ice pass up off the outside of his right skate and labeling a wrist shot under the bar to Quick's right side. The five of us knew this may have been the end of the game. There was not much time left and expecting the Kings to respond as they had already done once was farfetched. The penalty two minutes later confirmed our feeling as the Devils put in the empty netter and ensured there would be a game five back in New Jersey.
Usually a loss in such a meaningful game brings many dejected attitudes and disappointed people, but right away there was the understanding that all was okay. There were three more chances and surely the Kings would continue their road dominance in game five clinching the first cup for the Kings. We waited post game in the friends and family area below the stands by the Kings locker room. Everyone was of the same mindset: everything is fine, we will get it in game five. When Alec came out he was more disappointed that they didn't get it done for us! Regardless of the outcome, we had a great time and were disappointed that the Kings didn't finish it off in a sweep, but the reality was that it will happen soon enough.
As we were waiting to leave the arena we saw another friend and former teammate Andy Greene. Greene is a top defenseman for the Devils just as he was at Miami, but is also a great guy and talked with us until everyone was on their bus ready to leave. The entire 24 hours was great because of being with and seeing good friends all in the midst of an intense battle for the Stanley Cup. With the Kings not departing until the next day, we had a late dinner and had some time to be with Alec. It was old times with guys ribbing each other (especially Loupee as always) and having many laughs reliving memories from college and everything that had happened that day. I have no doubt the Kings will win this series. It’s just a matter of time with the odds steeply against the Devils winning four in a row. Hopefully everyone will be able to make the celebration this summer when Alec has his day with the Cup!
Thanks Tino!
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