We were happy to meet up with John and Mick, two other UML fans at the airport. After boarding the plane with both the Harvard hockey team and our own UMass Lowell River Hawks, we had a nice safe flight, including possibly the best and softest plane landing I have ever experienced (thank you Mr. Pilot). I must say my partner on the trip (not mentioning any names Gary) had a chance to do say "hello" to Tyler Kolarik, the Crimson player who was sitting next to the unnamed partner, but he chickened out. After arriving in downtown Denver, we headed out to find some ... umm ... water. Somehow we got lost and wound up in one of the best bars either of us have ever been to, the Falling Rock Tap House.
The next morning, a Friday, we decided to check out the city, and walk around downtown. We were surprised to see that this is a very quiet city, nothing like Boston. They have a downtown street filled with stores on both sides, and there weren't many people walking around. We saw the Capital Building along with the Mint building with some nice decorations as well (see, we did do some sightseeing!).
Soon enough it was game time, so we headed to the Magness Arena, along with the Gustafson family, the Kotyluk family, and John and Mick. The Magness is a beautiful arena, but we were a little surprised by the location of our seats. I had a better view of the Rocky Mountains from inside the building than I did of the ice. We decided to move down a little closer to the ice surface and the view was much better. While Lowell struggled at the start of this game, the Hawks did beat Harvard 2-0. The players even saluted the Lowell fans, all 25 or so of us, even though I took this just a second too early. We headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a conversation with the Gustafson's, a very fun family to sit and talk to.
The next afternoon, prior to the Championship game of the Denver Cup, we went back to the Falling Rock Tap House. I decided to have a Coke (they have very good Coke's there) and Gary had a cranberry juice, but I wound up holding both at one point so Gary could take a picture of all the taps behind us. The bartender offered to take a picture of both of us, so we could show everyone all the yummy beverages that the Tap House offered. The decorations at the Tap House are also very cool. If you're ever in the Denver area, we'd definitely recommend the Falling Rock. Just don't ask for a Bud.
Finally at the Magness Arena, it was game time. We didn't sit in our original seats for this one either, having a nice view of the end Lowell would shoot at twice. In the second period, we got to see Cam McCormick, arguably one of the top goaltenders in the country this year. Unfortunately, then ranked #3 Denver Pioneers won the cup on their home ice, defeating #5 Lowell 2-1. The Hawks only had one played named to the All-Tournament Team, as Ed McGrane was picked as a forward thanks to his shorthanded goal against DU. It was tough, but yet strangely satisfying to see the Lowell captains receive the runner up trophy.
After the game on Saturday night, we headed to the Sing Sing, a piano bar in downtown. It was a great place, with fun music, and even more yummy beverages. We had some issues when we got back to the hotel after 2 am, and having to be the airport at 6:30. We decided to try and stand by on a flight later in the day, but had to get in touch with Mick as we were supposed to give him a ride to the airport. But since we didn't have his last name or his room number, we told the front desk staff to keep a look out for "Santa Claus" and tell him to take a cab to the airport. Just a great ending to the trip.
Overall we had a great weekend, and had a good chance to meet a Lowell supporter who lived out in Denver, Tom. Before we left the Arena, we had a picture taken of some of the supporters that had been rooting on the River Hawks on the trip.
Beware Colorado ... we're coming back next year. And this time, we're bringing friends. :) |
