Share your memories of Mellon Arena

Wow, this is tough….so many memories. You mean good memories, right? Not like an 8 year-old version of myself having to wait in line to pee in the stalls because I was intimidated that old men could see my pee-pee when I was going in the troughs?

I will keep this short and sweet. The three most memorable games I attended – Game 6 in the 1999 Stanley Cup Playoffs versus New Jersey (Jagr ties the game up and scores in OT basically playing on one leg); Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs against Philly (getting the “Go Home Flyers” chant started with 10+ mins left in the game was unbeatable); and, more recently, Crosby’s 4 goal game against the Rangers earlier this season on hat night.

I have attended Penguin games in that barn in every season since 1991, and I will miss it like hell. That being said, I am pumped for the Con!

I actually want to add one more (so much for being short and sweet):

My very first game. My parents surprised me with tickets to the Penguins / Maple Leafs on Dec. 26th, 1991. It was my 6th birthday.

The Penguins won that game 12-1, which is a team record to this day.

I have plenty of memories but I’m not going to write a novel about it. How about this one? This was pretty good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZiCx0vfRKo

The first game is always special. Strangely enough, I was living in pre-Hurricanes North Carolina when I started watching hockey in 1995. I drove up to the Burgh with my mother over spring break in 1997 for my first ever NHL game. It was a loss to Montreal, but it was great nonetheless. My two distinct memories of the game were Alexsey Morozov getting hammered on a hit and the nachos that were so big they covered my entire lap. I was already in love with the Penguins, but on that trip I fell in love with Pittsburgh. So much so that I moved here to attend grad school in the fall.

My memories from this past year are fantastic. Geno’s HT in game 2 against the Hurricanes (the only playoff game I got to go to and boy did I pick a good one), Billy G’s game tier with 0.4 seconds left against Boston (student rush ticket and the best $20 I ever spent) and Sid’s modest six point night against the Islanders a couple of months ago.

Love the Igloo. Love the Pens.

Let’s send the old lady out in style and win the Cup on home ice this year, huh boys?

I saw rookie camp there the year Crosby was a rookie. I hate yall (figuratively speaking), but the excitement in the building was pretty cool to see. Kind of sad I never got to see an actual game there, but who knows… if we meet in the playoffs…

was on 4-25-89 when Mario scored 8 points and Hextall chased Brown into the corner as the Pens defeat the Flyers in a 2nd round match they ultimately lost in 7 games. I have been hooked ever since!

was when Mario scored off the face-off on a dare proposed by radio host Mark Madden. Pens beat the Sabers 5-2 and I moved away from Pittsburgh three months later. I have only seen the Pens play once live since when Crosby scored that amazing back-handed goal as he was falling against the Coyotes.

gets free in front of the net and beats Les Binkley. I was sitting right behind the net for my first NHL game and this was the first goal. After 40 years I can still see Ellis’ face like the game was last night.

As a fairly new Pens fan (2005-2006 season…come on, I’m from Central PA, not much hockey there), my favorite was a student rush game the day after Lemieux retired. The weather called for a snow/sleet/ice mix and the temperature hovered around 30-32 degrees the entire day. I drove the hour from Latrobe to Pittsburgh to see the game against the Caps. Halfway through the first period, they played this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXfGhcThNkw) for Mario. Some of the worst (or best?) chills I have ever had at a sporting event. Ryan Malone became my favorite player after he scored on a penalty shot against Kolzig (after an Ovechkin penalty, no less). After that game, my parents bought me a Malone jersey for my 19th birthday. I’ve been hooked since.

Close second is a game against the Islanders. DiPietro got his stick stuck in the end boards, which showed up on that evening’s Sportscenter for “10 Worst Plays of the Week.” Malone scored from his side in my first game wearing the aforementioned Malone jersey. Oh and some chick in my section had her sign “Sidney put it in my 5 Hole!” confiscated. To boos from the rest of the crowd.

great stories. I have never been so I don’t have any but I enjoyed reading all of yours. I see that the NHL suspended Poni two games

mellon turned me from “huh, that sidney crosby guy is pretty damn attractive, what’s icing?” to a girl who screamed in the middle of madison square park for sidney’s 500th point.
i’ve only been to mellon once, three weeks ago, but it was one of the best days of my life (despite the outcome, excuse me while i curse .9 seconds). just being around people who loved the game, the team, and the players as much as i did (maybe even more. MAYBE.). when i was watching the warm ups, i had my nose pressed to the glass and i felt like a five year old. i was so damn excited, i couldn’t have cared less what the people thought of me. they cared, but only to tell me that sid was gonna warm up right in front of me and smile when i stared in wide eyed excitement. (no, i’m not five. i’m twenty. =) i’d been to games in other stadiums, but i never saw anything like this from other fans of other teams. they had a “every man for himself” mindset, while the good people i watched the game with had more of a “you’re here for the first time? welcome home, lemme show you around.”

so, mellon, i’ll miss you. even so, as long as the spirit of the team stays this way, a new place won’t be so bad.

/rant.

But I loved reading all these stories. They make me so sad :(

I curse myself for going to Pittsburgh a couple times the past few years and not knowing the Pens >_<
I didn’t even know about hockey then.

But I’m definitely love all these stories.
Keep them coming I say :)

i was there when kevin stevens lanuched himself at richard pilon in the corner. that attempted hit effectivly destroyed his career. arty was always one of my fav’s from back in the day. too see the pool of blood on the ice was just bad.

My memory was when I was a kid living in Pittsburgh, and my family went to a Pirates game at the old Three River’s Stadium. This was after the first cup run in ‘91 (I think…it could have been after the second cause I remember playing the ’Hawks, but I don’t know if that was before or after this…anyways). We were coming into the city and remember thinking “The Igloo is there somewhere…and that is where Mario plays!”

What a great idea & what wonderful stories (except maybe the 12-1 Leafs thing. that one I could live without :)).

I moved to PIttsburgh a few years ago, and at some point I realized that I didn’t have to sell my firstborn to get tickets to games, so I started attending games a few times a month. I had some free time one Sunday afternoon during January 2009, so I thought I’d head over to the arena to see if there were any tickets available. There were, and I picked up a great ticket (was there alone) and went in.

As it turned out, it was the afternoon of the AFC championship, and everyone was thoroughly engaged in Steelers-mania. The game was against the Rangers, and it was perhaps the most thrilling atmosphere I’ve ever been a part of. There were Steelers jerseys mixed in with Pens jerseys, terrible towels everywhere, and a general sense of excitement and anticipation in the air. The Pens won 3-0, and you could just tell the players were enjoying every second of the game, soaking in the atmosphere. I left the arena feeling like I had just been part of something wonderful: it was great to be part of a celebration that was positive in every respect.

That’s my hands-down favourite memory from Mellon.

I’ve always believed that if something is worth doing, it is worth overdoing. That’s why I have narrowed this down to my top 15 memories, unranked and presented in chronological order. Although I have been following the Pens since the late 80s, my fanhood did not come as a result of growing up in Pittsburgh, and so most of my memories of the Igloo are from the last decade. Over those 10 years, I feel like I have come to know just about every nook and cranny in the old place, and I will truly miss it. If you know me by now, you know that I like to use photos that my wife and I have taken to help tell the story. Here goes.
.

.
-—————————————————————-
February 10, 2001: Penguins vs Devils
My first game at the Igloo. Following Mario’s return in December, 2000, a couple of my buddies and I decided we had to get up to Pittsburgh for a game. It was a dandy. New Jersey took a 3-0 lead, but the Pens fought back. Alexei Kovalev stole the show, picking up the hat trick, including the game winner in OT.

I had been to many Pens games before at the Capital Center and then Verizon Center. Although it felt like a home game for Pittsburgh in those games, nothing compared to being at the Igloo. I was hooked, however it would be quite a while before I made it back as I moved to Phoenix for the next 5 years.
.
-—————————————————————-
February 3, 2007: Pens vs Caps
Back on the East Coast, and now a married man, this was the first trip to the Igloo for my wife. We watched from one of the suites as the Pens shut out the Caps 2-0. It was her second Pens game, as we had seen the Coyotes beat Pittsburgh 5-2 at America West Arena in 2003 (the same night The Two Towers premiered, so we caught the midnight showing after the game), but needless to say the game at Mellon Arena was much more enjoyable.
.
-—————————————————————-
April 27, 2008: ECSF Game 2 Pens vs Rangers
This was the game after the awesome comeback from 3-0 down in Game 1. The Pens needed to follow up that game with a strong defensive effort, which they did as Fleury and the boys shut the Rangers out 2-0 to take a 2-0 series lead.
.
-—————————————————————-
May 4, 2008: ECSF Game 5 Pens vs Rangers
The series shifted back to Pittsburgh following a New York win in Game 4. It was a very close game, but Hossa got the game winner in overtime to close out the series. As awesome as that was, one of the enduring memories I have from that game was being able to sit right next to one of my favorite former players, Jaromir Jagr.
.

.
-—————————————————————-
May 18, 2008: ECF Game 5 Pens vs Flyers
Another series where the Pens led 3-0 but lost Game 4. I was in Philly for that game, by myself, and was disappointed they didn’t end it in front of the Flyers faithful, but it was also nice to get another game back at the Igloo. This one was over before the puck ever hit the ice. The Pens routed the Flyers 6-0 to close out the series, securing the Prince of Wales Trophy and a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.
.

.
-—————————————————————-
May 31, 2008: SCF Game 4 Pens vs Wings
Hopes were high in Pittsburgh this night. Detroit had taken a 2-0 lead in the series, but the Pens won Game 3 and we were looking foward to seeing them even things up. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. The key moment came in the 3rd period when the Pens could not cash in on a lengthy 5-on-3 power play, and the Wings held on for the 2-1 win.
.

.
-—————————————————————-
April 17, 2009: ECQF Game 2 Pens vs Flyers
The Penguins were looking to go up 2 games to none on the Flyers for the 2nd straight year. Philly didn’t want to go down easy, however, but finally Bill Guerin got the game winner in overtime.
.
-—————————————————————-
May 8, 2009: ECSF Game 4 Pens vs Capitals
Sergei Gonchar went down early in this one as a result of a knee-on-knee hit from Washington’s #8. That didn’t slow the Pens down very much as they got the 5-3 win to even the series at 2 games apiece.
.
-—————————————————————-
June 9, 2009: SCF Game 6 Pens vs Wings
After driving from MD to Detroit to see a 5-0 slaughter in Game 5, we were still confident that the Pens would bounce back in this game to even things up and send the series, and us, back to Detroit for a Game 7. We weren’t disappointed.
.

.
Favorite moment came after the game. Who does Pierre interview? Not Sid, Geno, Gonch, not even Fleury, nope, it was Rob Scuderi.

.
-—————————————————————-
October 2, 2009: Home opener, Pens vs Rangers
Since the Pens won the Cup on the road, again, this was a chance for the Igloo crowd to see the fruits of their labor. The Cup was unveiled, the banner was raised, and oh yeah, the Pens beat the Rags 3-2.
.

.
-—————————————————————-
November 28, 2009: Pens vs Rangers
Seeing Sid get a hat trick anytime is great. Seeing it on giveaway hat night was priceless.
.

.
-—————————————————————-
January 19, 2010: Pens vs Islanders
It’s like Deja Vu all over again, only this time it was Geno with the trick on messenger bag giveaway night.
.

.
-—————————————————————-
January 31, 2010: Pens vs Wings
This was the first meaningful meeting between the two teams since Game 7. The Wings had started the season poorly, but were starting to put things together. Both teams played some good D and the goalies came up big, but Sid and Geno were able to lock things up in the shootout to get the 2-1 win.
.

.
-—————————————————————-
February 1, 2010: Pens vs Sabres
Another giveaway night, another hat trick for Sid. This time the ice was littered with free tote bags.
.

.
-—————————————————————-
April 8, 2010: Final regular season home game, Pens vs Islanders
The memories from this game are obviously still fresh, but so many of them will no doubt be lasting ones long cherished after the Igloo is gone. Very selfishly, my favorite memory from this game is of Letang signing my jersey after the game while other players were off giving the shirts off their backs. Thanks, Kris!
.

.
-—————————————————————-
We have another long playoff run ahead of us, so quite a few more games, but I’m sure going to miss going to 66 Mario Lemieux Place.
.

my very first game was the Pens versus the California Golden Seals (early seventies). I’m pretty sure the Pens won 6-1. and I was there for the Lemieux debut in 1984. they use to have a photo event towards the end of the season where they would have the players skating on the ice with roped off areas and you could go on the ice after the game and take pictures (this has to be in the mid to late 70’s). I still have the photo’s (with the blue and white uniforms). all the years of the so-so and bad teams until the Cup years when they finally put it together. I’m hoping they won’t tear the place down because it would be a shame…