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| From Hockey Night to Fight Night |
02/22/06
When I joined the Manchester Monarchs Booster Club, I expected the trips to be filled with fun and good times. I got much more
than I expected. My mom and I arrived at Macy’s in Bedford around 7:30 am on February 18, 2006. The bus was waiting, though
there was nearly no one there other than us. After everyone else arrived, we got on the bus, and began the eight-hour drive to
Hershey, Pennsylvania. We watched a few movies: among them “Miracle” and “The Best of Boston Sports”. Though they
skipped frequently due to the bumpy roads,
they were enjoyable to all.
We arrived at the Days Inn on Chocolate Blvd in Hershey around 4pm. The doors to the Giant Center wouldn’t be open until 6 pm,
so we had time to spare. Everyone checked in we found out that my mother and I were on the third floor and the rest of the
people on the trip were staying on the second. After we had checked in, some went to the pool, some stayed in their rooms and a
few, including myself, walked around outside for a few minutes. We didn’t stay out for very long because it was very cold and
windy.
We left the hotel around 5:30 pm, boarded the bus and left to go to the Giant Center for the game. Once inside a friend and I went
to the walkway by the Monarchs’ bench. We talked to Brendan Bernakevitch for a few minutes and I found out that he is not a fan
of the word “wicked” as he made fun of my use of the word. The game overall was decent, but what seemed to be the main
problem was the usual carelessness for taking penalties when the game because crucial. The Monarchs lost in a 2-0 battle with
former Monarchs Coach Bruce Boudreau’s Hershey Bears. Though they had lost, all around it was well fought.
After the game, we proceeded back to the hotel. In a conference room we found that the Hershey Bears Booster Club had
brought us pizza, soda and, for those old enough, beer. We all socialized and ate our food. Around midnight most of the people
from Hershey Booster Club had left as well as most of our people that had come on the trip with us. A few of us stayed down in
the conference room, played cards, talked and just plain goofed around. Around 2am, we all cleaned and exited the conference
room. Most of us went back to our respective rooms. After a few prank calls from room 216, my mother and I received a few
visitors. The five of us played cards in our room and that is when the fun began.
After receiving a phone call stating that we were being too loud, we figured we should play the nice quiet game of spoons.
Spoons is a card game that you have to try to get four of a kind and then you have the grab, in our game we used cups instead of
spoons. When someone else had grabbed a cup, you had to grab one of the remaining ones. The object is not to be the only one
without a cup. We began playing and at one point, Devon had grabbed a cup when Kevin and I went for the last cup and
accidentally knocked it off the bed. In the process of trying to get the cup, I accidentally got punched quite hard in the mouth. My
mouth was full of blood and I did not stop spitting out blood for about another hour and a half.
The next day it seemed everyone had heard the story of the night before. In the morning, we boarded the bus and headed to
Chocolate World. There, we were able to shop, eat and go see the 3D movie that was playing. Around 1pm, we got on the bus
and headed for Philadelphia. It seemed that the entire ride there all we saw was farmlands, which made the two-hour ride seem
as though it dragged on for hours. When we arrived at the Wachovia Spectrum, we sat on the bus until doors opened. Before we
got off, we were warned that some of the Philadelphia Phantom fans could get quite rowdy. We went inside and watched an
extremely well played game. The game went to overtime, then a shootout. When the Monarchs won in the shootout, there were
some very rude comments made by a woman sitting near us. When we were walking out the same woman started screaming at
us, she had to be restrained by a security guard and two of the people in her group.
The weekend ended with a 6-hour bus ride home, in which many people slept the whole way. This was my very first overnight
Booster Club bus trip. I enjoyed it immensely, and plan to go on many more.
When I joined the Manchester Monarchs Booster Club, I expected the trips to be filled with fun and good times. I got much more
than I expected. My mom and I arrived at Macy’s in Bedford around 7:30 am on February 18, 2006. The bus was waiting, though
there was nearly no one there other than us. After everyone else arrived, we got on the bus, and began the eight-hour drive to
Hershey, Pennsylvania. We watched a few movies: among them “Miracle” and “The Best of Boston Sports”. Though they
skipped frequently due to the bumpy roads,
they were enjoyable to all.
We arrived at the Days Inn on Chocolate Blvd in Hershey around 4pm. The doors to the Giant Center wouldn’t be open until 6 pm,
so we had time to spare. Everyone checked in we found out that my mother and I were on the third floor and the rest of the
people on the trip were staying on the second. After we had checked in, some went to the pool, some stayed in their rooms and a
few, including myself, walked around outside for a few minutes. We didn’t stay out for very long because it was very cold and
windy.
We left the hotel around 5:30 pm, boarded the bus and left to go to the Giant Center for the game. Once inside a friend and I went
to the walkway by the Monarchs’ bench. We talked to Brendan Bernakevitch for a few minutes and I found out that he is not a fan
of the word “wicked” as he made fun of my use of the word. The game overall was decent, but what seemed to be the main
problem was the usual carelessness for taking penalties when the game because crucial. The Monarchs lost in a 2-0 battle with
former Monarchs Coach Bruce Boudreau’s Hershey Bears. Though they had lost, all around it was well fought.
After the game, we proceeded back to the hotel. In a conference room we found that the Hershey Bears Booster Club had
brought us pizza, soda and, for those old enough, beer. We all socialized and ate our food. Around midnight most of the people
from Hershey Booster Club had left as well as most of our people that had come on the trip with us. A few of us stayed down in
the conference room, played cards, talked and just plain goofed around. Around 2am, we all cleaned and exited the conference
room. Most of us went back to our respective rooms. After a few prank calls from room 216, my mother and I received a few
visitors. The five of us played cards in our room and that is when the fun began.
After receiving a phone call stating that we were being too loud, we figured we should play the nice quiet game of spoons.
Spoons is a card game that you have to try to get four of a kind and then you have the grab, in our game we used cups instead of
spoons. When someone else had grabbed a cup, you had to grab one of the remaining ones. The object is not to be the only one
without a cup. We began playing and at one point, Devon had grabbed a cup when Kevin and I went for the last cup and
accidentally knocked it off the bed. In the process of trying to get the cup, I accidentally got punched quite hard in the mouth. My
mouth was full of blood and I did not stop spitting out blood for about another hour and a half.
The next day it seemed everyone had heard the story of the night before. In the morning, we boarded the bus and headed to
Chocolate World. There, we were able to shop, eat and go see the 3D movie that was playing. Around 1pm, we got on the bus
and headed for Philadelphia. It seemed that the entire ride there all we saw was farmlands, which made the two-hour ride seem
as though it dragged on for hours. When we arrived at the Wachovia Spectrum, we sat on the bus until doors opened. Before we
got off, we were warned that some of the Philadelphia Phantom fans could get quite rowdy. We went inside and watched an
extremely well played game. The game went to overtime, then a shootout. When the Monarchs won in the shootout, there were
some very rude comments made by a woman sitting near us. When we were walking out the same woman started screaming at
us, she had to be restrained by a security guard and two of the people in her group.
The weekend ended with a 6-hour bus ride home, in which many people slept the whole way. This was my very first overnight
Booster Club bus trip. I enjoyed it immensely, and plan to go on many more.
| Copyright © 2003-2006 Manchester Monarchs Booster Club. All Rights Reserved. |
