Well, I'll Be.

Islanders 2: Sabres 1

How can I describe last night?

I flew through my classes (barely even paying attention, which is rare for me), then flew to work, then got on the 6 bus going down Sycamore St. to downtown Buffalo, and time seemed to crawl. Of course, as soon as it comes down to going to a hockey game, which is something I wish I could do WAY more often, everything seems to slow down.

But I made it to First Niagara Center with five minutes to spare till puck drop, met my friend Jon in front of the Sabres store (and I made sure I was wearing my John Tavares shirt), and made the long climb up to the 300 level for our seats. Then, time moved at the speed of light.

Even so, it was fantastic.

I can't tell you how I feel when I go to a hockey game, especially one like last night's. I've had the good fortune of going to sellout or close-to-sellout games all three times I've seen the Islanders play live (once at Nassau Coliseum, twice at HSBC/now FN Center), and the atmosphere in every game has been electric, whether or not I'm a home or away fan. Just the chill of the ice, the closeness you feel (even from so far up from the ice) knowing your favorite players are just below you, no electronic screen or computer monitor in your way... seeing them score, seeing your goalie stand on his head, seeing it all... there are no words for it, other than magical. Yep, there's a sort of magic in watching a live hockey game, even if watching on TV gives you more insight.

All things considered, this was a nearly perfect game for the Islanders even with the low score. Early on in the game, Matt Martin dropped the gloves with Zack Kassian and both players got a good number of punches in. The fight came after teammates came to the aid of Nathan Gerbe, the recipient of a big hit from Nino Niederreiter which resulted in an interference penalty and a Sabres power play. Shortly afterward, though, on the Islanders' own power play, Mark Streit threw a shot at the net that Matt Moulson redirected, giving the Isles a 1-0 lead. The Sabres wouldn't tie it until the first two minutes of the third period, when the Isles got caught in a line change and Jochen Hecht ended up cashing in. But it took them a long time, not just to score, but to even get started after the Isles took the lead. The Sabres went 0-for-4 on the power play, including a 5-on-3 that Al Montoya completely stoned every chance on. Montoya was incredible in this game, making 30 saves on 31 shots, quite a few of which made me cheer from the section I was sitting in (surrounded by Sabres fans, might I add, including Jon).

John Tavares, meanwhile, had six shots and some big chances one-on-one that Jhonas Enroth (the best player on the ice for Buffalo) stuffed him on. Enroth would also get help from the post on a ringer by Kyle Okposo, but for the most part, he was solid despite the loss. Tavares looks like he's close to scoring another (few) soon, but let's not discredit his great two-way play- he had a couple of great takeaways to nullify the Sabres' offensive rushes.

Also impressive last night was Travis Hamonic, who blocked some key shots throughout the game and sacrificed his body to make good plays. He's getting better in every game, and I'm honestly very impressed with him. But it's not just him, or Al, or Tavares- every player on the bench just clicked last night, making good plays to one another and helping each other out. It was the first time in a while that they have looked like a cohesive unit, and with a trip to Chicago looming on Friday, it's a great time for them to get that kind of chemistry going. Chicago, my second favorite team (in the interest of full disclosure), is having their own issues- they got blown out by Edmonton last week and just fell to Phoenix 4-1 last night, so the Islanders may just get two points if they can maintain this momentum from their last two wins.

So, highlights of the night?

• the win, of course


• Montoya stuffing Derek Roy twice


• the Martin-Kassian fight, my first one ever witnessed live


• Jon opening a door thinking it was a stairwell and instead running smack into a kitchen filled with equipment


• the Islanders fan whom I gave a high-five after he told someone he was talking to on the phone that mine was the first Islanders shirt he'd seen all night


• the guy behind us who corrected my grammar (boo) but then told me I was cute (I'll take it).


• Just being there. I'm convinced I'll never be happier than when I'm at an arena taking in a game. Being on the lacrosse field might tie with it.

Until next time.