Posted on 09/20/2001 9:03:11 PM PDT by kattracks
|
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- With President Bush on the big screen, hockey suddenly didn't matter anymore, not to the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers or the thousands of fans. The start of the third period of the NHL exhibition game was delayed and then called off Thursday night as fans demanded to watch the President's speech to Congress instead of the game. By the time Bush finished speaking 36 minutes later, the teams lined up at center ice to shake hands. As a video flag waved on the screen, an announcement was made that the game was declared a 2-2 tie after two periods ``out of respect for where the United States was headed in the near future.'' The speech was about to begin as the intermission clock counted down the final minute in between the second and third periods. The scoreboard said that play was about to resume, and the speech could be seen in the outer concourses. When the speech was taken off the screen, the 19,117 fans began to boo, before chanting in unison ``Leave it on.'' As the teams returned to the benches for the third period, the speech was restored to loud cheers. The players from both teams were as interested in watching the address as the fans. Some kneeled along the side boards, next to the four game officials who straddled the center ice line. Philadelphia forward Mark Recchi stood in the crease of the Flyers goal with goalie Brian Boucher. New York goalie Dan Blackburn nervously skated back and forth along his goal line. Wherever the players were, all heads was looking up. In the speech's most dramatic moments, the fans roared -- drowning out the applause that could be seen on the screen. Spontaneous cheers of ``USA! USA!'' also rang out, and fans waved some flags. But when Bush was speaking, the arena fell silent. The biggest cheers from the crowd came when a widow of one the passengers, who helped thwart the terrorists' plan to crash a fourth airliner into another building, was singled out by the President. They cheered again when Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was recognized by the President. Fans even roared when New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New York Gov. George Pataki were shown -- almost unheard of for Philadelphia fans to salute New York. Around the large arena, the scoreboards that line the upper level displayed video red, white and blue bunting. Before the game, the patriotism of the crowd also came out. As Lauren Hart, the daughter of the longtime Flyers broadcaster Gene Hart, sang ``God Bless America'' fans sang and cheered. ``God Bless America'' has been a rallying anthem for the Flyers since the mid 1970s, but never did it have the meaning it held Thursday night. Mark Recchi tied the game at 2 in the second period, flipping the puck over Dan Blackburn's shoulder at 16:45. Jesse Boulerice also scored for Philadelphia (1-0-1). Barret Heisten and Mikael Samuelsson scored for New York (2-0-1). There were six fights in the game as the team combined for 112 penalty minutes -- 96 in the first 16 minutes. On Wednesday night, the Rangers beat New Jersey 6-1 at Madison Square Garden in the first pro sports event in New York City since the attacks. |
|
|
This is probably a false statement. During long interruptions in a hockey game, many goalies do not like to stand still in their crease because they don't want their skates to make ruts in the ice that might interfere with their movement when play resumes.
Just a thought. Call me the FreeRepublic Hockey Expert. LOL!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.