Hockey and High Heels

Original post date: Sunday, October 28, 2007

What a fantastic day; spending 8 hours at the Staples Center today was exactly how I wanted to pass this Saturday by. Hockey & High Heels was the event that brought us out and it couldn't have been better. Yes the flyer geared the event to women wanted to know more about the game, but it evolved into something better. The 24 or so women that made it out all already had a love for the game so it was a great way to bring this unique group of ladies together. I will say that one thing that caught me (and KMS2) off guard was that many of the women brought their own equipment for the on-ice time. Not gonna lie, it was a little intimidating, but this really was a fantastic group of women to spend the day with.

We first took a tour of the locker room. One thing that killed me was the heat. All of their equipment was hanging up in their stalls being dried out by the heat funneling into the room. It was like an oven in there, but understandable considering the need. The second thing that killed me. Crocs. In the room just outside the locker room were more stalls for the players. The boys had their own matching shoes and Crocs. And we all know how I feel about Crocs! On another note, Handzus. Dude, you need some new equipment. Your gear is kind of...old and gross. And I don't know if I really needed to see Brownie's jock. But it was hanging there for all to see!

One highlight was definitely skating on the ice with Daryl Evans and doing all of the drills. There was one drill he was showing us and I piped up and said, “You're funny, Daryl.” (as in, there's no way I'm gonna be able to do that) Whereupon, he came over and tapped me on the helmet with his stick. I think that was the point where I fell head over heels, as well as on my ass. On more than one occasion. I DID perfect my stop though, but stopping to the right was a no go. As Zoolander so eloquently put it, “I'm not an ambi-turner.” But I now understand why the players are DRIPPING with sweat during interviews and stuff. It gets HOT out on the ice with all that equipment on. Sure you can take your gloves and helmet off for a bit, but all of the equipment is actually keeping your body heat close to you. It was something I've never thought about before, but you learn something new everyday.

Right when I got off the ice, I was interviewed by a guy with Kings radio or something (can't remember). But I was glad it was only for audio because I was sweating so badly. haha KMS2 and I got interviewed by Heidi Androl a little later on camera. I don't know if it'll actually be used, but we'll let you know. It was cool to meet her and actually talk to her. Something I found amusing is that KMS2 is right-handed and holds a stick left-handed whereas I'm left-handed and hold a stick right-handed. When we noticed that at the same time, we said we just used our brother's' sticks when we were kids, which caused us to basically be mirror opposites in that respect.

The tour of the Staples Center was next and was pretty cush. There were definitely places that I saw which I will probably never see again. Cigar room? Don't actually WANT to go in there. But everything else was pretty much awesome. Can someone tell me what the Executives Wives Room is for?

Luc definitely brings an energy to the room. I can't believe I was in the same room with the all-time points-leading left winger in the NHL.

Notable swag from the event:
- Puck signed by Luc (given to me by KMS2). I LOVE IT!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
- LA Kings scarf
- Hockey & High Heels by Lisa Ovens (who is adorable!)
- 2008 calender that everyone got. Love the pictures, love the layout. My only critique is that the crown on the front is a little small. I thought there was a lot of unused space on the cover.
- Bailey doll that I got from Daryl Evans during the second intermission when I went up to section 318 to look for KingsCast. Definitely did NOT see Kingscast (thanks Keith and Chris), but Daryl and I had a good chat.

Shout outs:
Lisa Ovens – It was so great meeting you and look for my email with pictures! I hope we can meet up again in the future!
Daryl Evans – He has such a great personality and the ice time was ridiculously awesome. I definitely appreciated his taking the time to hang out with us.
Hillary Hodding – Thanks for organizing such a great event! Please do it again every year.
Finny – It was cool meeting you (even if you were wearing your Ducks jersey). =) I'm glad we got to marvel at how fucking huge Penner was.
The Kings players – After having a great day at the Staples Center it was fantastic to end it with a win over the Oilers. 4 in a row! (And don't worry, I didn't step on the crown in your locker room.)

Quick game notes:
- The first penalty against the Oilers. I don't think the Oilers killed that penalty at all; I saw it more as the Kings wasting time. They weren't able to get a shot on Roloson and I wasn't impressed by their play for those two minutes. But things looked up after that and I was able to relax a bit.
- Sully's second goal. Fucking ridiculous.
- That Jack Johnson is one SMART player. I've been VERY impressed by his play on the ice. Not to say that I've seen any play OFF the ice.... So anyway, I like that he's noticeably thinking out there instead of blindly hitting guys.
- During the third period when one of the Oilers took down Blake, I stood up and screamed, “YOU FUCKER!” When I sat down right after, I realized that it was kind of loud. I definitely got some stares and heard someone make a comment. But honestly, I didn't think my section was gonna be that quiet after that hit! Whatever guys!

Conclusion: my day couldn't have gone any better.