I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday. We’re back from a brief break at work to see family and friends in Rochester and while there, we saw the AHL Amerks play Hamilton at Blue Cross Arena. The old barn otherwise known as the War Memorial (it’s former name) has to be considered my ‘home’ stadium. I’ve never taken the time to figure out how many games I’ve been to here, but it surely is a lot. It such a quirky arena with quite a contrast of old and new. The more hockey arenas I visit, the more I realize how special it is as so many of the other (mainly newer) arenas are just sterile. There are so many goofy traditions here that I love: The accordian guy playing tunes as you walk into the arena, how the lights have to be ‘warmed up’ because of their age while the anthem is playing, the Moose, the off-center scoreboard, the old horn and score-o between the first and second period.

After a few down years, it was nice to see a holiday crowd of 7,000+ at the game. A completely new management team came in and made sweeping changes on and off the nice, mostly for the good. As for the arena/team nuances, I do like how they brought back the home white uniforms. But I find it horrible they let go the organist for decades, Fred Costello. Hearing the organ was a staple at Amerks games and now it has been replaced by awful, loud and constant pop music. To all these minor league teams who think they need loud music to energize or excite the crowd: please stop. As for the game, the Amerks withstood 47 shots and came out with a 4-2 win. So we say goodbye to Blue Cross Arena….till next year (or sooner if the Calder Cup Finals come calling).

As for the next new stadium trip, those plans are up in there as usual. If we get a real nice weather break, I’ve been toying with the idea of spending the weekend in Rhode Island for a couple venues. In reality, we’ll probably sneak away to a nearby facility, but it probably will not be until that week that I decide. Also, if you look at the schedule page, you’ll notice a Texas trip in April…more on that to come!

I was back in Rochester for the four-day holiday and went to go see the Sabres play Carolina on Saturday Night in Buffalo. They played rather awful as they could not get anything going the first two periods and then just exploded with five goals in the third to win 5-1. Ryan Miller (USA! USA!) was awesome making some great saves to keep them in it and then probably made one of the saves of the year towards the end of the second. This led to a DOUBLE standing O by our crowd. It was great to get back to see the Sabres play as it had been almost four years since my last game there.

HSBC is still one of my favorite arena experiences in the league as it truly is a great place. A couple of the new features I saw included “The Aud” bar in one of the concourses. Really cool, nostalgic hang-out area to drink and relax during the intermissions. The scoreboard was new to me as well and I honestly did not like the design of it. I find the circular scores around the board unappealing. The video is spectacular and crystal-clear, but man has it become a distraction. It seems any dead-time during the game, they fill the board with fan shots and everybody in the arena is fixated with the scoreboard. Also the pricing structure is annoying with four levels of prices based on the day and game, plus the Sabres have added pre-paid parking along with prices for how close you are to the arena. Booo. I know everyone is going this route, but its still sad to see. Lastly, it was nice to see a few of the new banners in the building. The 2007 division/presidents trophy banners and a couple new retired numbers (Gare, LaFontaine).

HSBC Arena is at the top of my list, but we are tentatively planning a New Jersey Devils game December 12, so we will see how the relatively new Prudential Center stacks up.