Squig
05-19-2009, 06:12 AM
Hey All
So far so good. We jumped on a plane Wed am for very easy and relaxing trip to Rimouski (here they call it Riki!!). We flew into Montreal and stayed the night and next day. Saw a few sites in Montreal - dropped by the Bell Centre to see Bob Gainey but he wasnt in. Holidays or sumthin. Went to Swartz's famous deli for lunch - smoked meat sandwitch - yum yum. Very rainy and windy day in Montreal so we settled in at a pub for a couple of coffees with addititives. Cabbed over to the VIA Rail station for the 8 hour train ride to Riki. If you have never taken a train try it sometime - best way to travel in my opinion - lots of leg room - very casual and relaxing. We pulled into Riki at 3 am and crashed in the hotel for the night.
The next morning we went for breaky at a nearby restaurant. Ordering food is definitely a little tricky. I used my blackberry to ask my french buddy in vancouver to decifer a few words! We figured hand signals and pointing to the menu work best. And hey we even got what we ordered - note to self pancakes here are actually crepes!! Very good tho
Off to the rink for some pre-game festivities. Day 1 is always the best day to get collectables. The best stuff goes real quick so ya gotta go early and often. Picked up some Memorial Cup pins that i was missing for my collection. Got my puck sets and they are doing up a very nice collectable puck for each game. Real Cool!! Their mascot is call "Louky" and on the side of the parking lot is a big sign saying "Loukyville" (kinda like the hollywood sign). I figure if i stand in front of the K and get my picture taken it will be perfect!! We went into the rink and got some pics with all of us on the rockets bench. Pretty small building but the angle of the seats puts you right in the game. The glass is low tho so ya gotta keep you head up where we are sitting.
I am sure most of you watched the game and saw what i saw. Our boys played very well and deserved the outcome. I am sure in the next practice we will be working on chipping pucks off the glass. Cant be getting delay of game calls like that against the Windsors etc. Kyle St Denis got hit kinda late in the game and i dont think he missed a shift but i hold my breath every time. I talked to the sportsnet guys after the game( Peter, Sam and Rob ). I asked them how we looked and they were very positive. According to them we should have no trouble with Drummonville but Windsor is just as good.
Met tons of Riki fans - had one guy come up to me last night and he congratulated us on the win. He was holding a jersey and he showed it to me. His son played with the Nics in 2005. It was Mario Scalzo Jr. I know it wont ring alot of bells but i remember him well from the London tournament.
Their fans are very loud and were very gracious in the loss. After the game we all went to the entertainment tent and watched a 70's disco retro band. Wow - disco balls and all the costumes. Tons of ABBA and such - it was very cool!!
Anyway time to go find some breakfast.
Go Rockets Go!!
So far so good. We jumped on a plane Wed am for very easy and relaxing trip to Rimouski (here they call it Riki!!). We flew into Montreal and stayed the night and next day. Saw a few sites in Montreal - dropped by the Bell Centre to see Bob Gainey but he wasnt in. Holidays or sumthin. Went to Swartz's famous deli for lunch - smoked meat sandwitch - yum yum. Very rainy and windy day in Montreal so we settled in at a pub for a couple of coffees with addititives. Cabbed over to the VIA Rail station for the 8 hour train ride to Riki. If you have never taken a train try it sometime - best way to travel in my opinion - lots of leg room - very casual and relaxing. We pulled into Riki at 3 am and crashed in the hotel for the night.
The next morning we went for breaky at a nearby restaurant. Ordering food is definitely a little tricky. I used my blackberry to ask my french buddy in vancouver to decifer a few words! We figured hand signals and pointing to the menu work best. And hey we even got what we ordered - note to self pancakes here are actually crepes!! Very good tho
Off to the rink for some pre-game festivities. Day 1 is always the best day to get collectables. The best stuff goes real quick so ya gotta go early and often. Picked up some Memorial Cup pins that i was missing for my collection. Got my puck sets and they are doing up a very nice collectable puck for each game. Real Cool!! Their mascot is call "Louky" and on the side of the parking lot is a big sign saying "Loukyville" (kinda like the hollywood sign). I figure if i stand in front of the K and get my picture taken it will be perfect!! We went into the rink and got some pics with all of us on the rockets bench. Pretty small building but the angle of the seats puts you right in the game. The glass is low tho so ya gotta keep you head up where we are sitting.
I am sure most of you watched the game and saw what i saw. Our boys played very well and deserved the outcome. I am sure in the next practice we will be working on chipping pucks off the glass. Cant be getting delay of game calls like that against the Windsors etc. Kyle St Denis got hit kinda late in the game and i dont think he missed a shift but i hold my breath every time. I talked to the sportsnet guys after the game( Peter, Sam and Rob ). I asked them how we looked and they were very positive. According to them we should have no trouble with Drummonville but Windsor is just as good.
Met tons of Riki fans - had one guy come up to me last night and he congratulated us on the win. He was holding a jersey and he showed it to me. His son played with the Nics in 2005. It was Mario Scalzo Jr. I know it wont ring alot of bells but i remember him well from the London tournament.
Their fans are very loud and were very gracious in the loss. After the game we all went to the entertainment tent and watched a 70's disco retro band. Wow - disco balls and all the costumes. Tons of ABBA and such - it was very cool!!
Anyway time to go find some breakfast.
Go Rockets Go!!