Red Wings at The Joe

I finally managed to catch an NHL game at the legendary Joe Louis Arena in downtown Detroit. As one of the oldest remaining barns in the league, it is slated to be replaced in the next year or two with a new facility and urban renewal plan for the downtown area. The Windsor Tunnel Bus made the short jaunt across (er, under) the river relatively painless....except perhaps for the drunken entertainment on the way back!

We had hoped for a good game, with the Red Wings hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning for a Saturday afternoon tilt, both quality teams in the thick of the playoff hunt. For a game with meaningful consequences, sadly the Tampa squad came out flat and the Wings won handily with a 4-0 decision. Great news for the home crowd at least.

Lopsided score notwithstanding, it was great fun to get out to a game with family - Keith, Grayson, Megan and John. Much to our delight, John and I even got "carded" for beer....TWICE.....as apparently we looked close enough to "under 30" to the arena staff.

We rounded out the evening by meeting up with Jane and Julie back in Canada, for a memorable dinner at SnackBarBQ in downtown Windsor, followed by some intense games of Zombicide.

Great day for a game!

Warmups from the (relatively) cheap seats

Hockeytown!

They definitely hit the net more in the warmup than they did in the game....

Puck battle in the corner

Stamkos on the draw with his team trailing

Frantic action in the Lightning end

The Red Wings storied franchise history

Wings Win!

Windsor awaits across the Detroit River