Hey guys, my Christmas gift from my girlfriend was a pair of tickets to the Sabres/Pens game in Buffalo, so I thought I might share some of my impressions of the game.

First, a few disclosures. Though I am an avid Pens fan, I had never been to a game until this Monday, so the entire experience was a new one for me. I have been to college games, but never an NHL game. Therefore, the arena and the fan behavior was all new to me. Also, my girlfriend lives in Bradford, PA but goes to school in Pittsburgh; hence why she's a Pens fan, but got me tickets to a game in Buffalo.

That said, after a rather harrowing drive through darn near white out conditions, the girlfriend and I arrived in Buffalo. (Honestly, probably some of the worst driving conditions ever. Those tickets were about the only thing that could have gotten me on the road.)We stopped at the mall there for some final Christmas shopping, then were off to the arena.

HSBC Arena was very easy to find and parking was even easier. The lots were not full and parking cost about what you'd expect. We did arrive pretty early, about 6:15, so well before warm-ups even started. One of the first things I noticed about HSBC was how clean everything was. Granted, it's only 12 years old. Still, a very nice, clean arena. Hopefully Consol will be nicer!

It was definitely a little odd being the only person in black and gold in a sea of blue and yellow, but the fans were fine. They actually seemed a bit apathetic to the presence of Pens fans, and I didn't receive any rude comments. During the game we had a somewhat rowdy group of Sabres fans in the row behind us. They were a group of guys in their mid- to late-twenties. They were actually pretty cool, joking around with us during breaks in the game. They also seemed to be very knowledgeable about the game and their team.

Our seats were in a fantastic location. Ninth row on the away blue line, penalty box side. Great, great seats. We actually ended up sitting right next to another couple that were both Pens fans. One thing I really noticed about the game was how quiet the ice sounds were. I'm pretty sure I actually hear more ice sounds on the FSN broadcasts than I did at the game!

The only problem I had was that it was at times difficult to keep up with the action on the ice, especially when play was in the other end. I realize that's to be expected, but it was just different than what I'm used to. The pace of the game actually seemed a lot slower when watching it live. The plays didn't seem as fast and the puck didn't seem to move as fast. The only time I didn't feel that way was on a Sidney Crosby breakaway.

Overall it was a great experience! It was most definitely worth the trip through the awful conditions! Hopefully my next experience at an NHL game will be in Mellon Arena!