Bloody Hockey Night in Dallas

I've been in attendance at hockey games since I was a fetus. My brothers played hockey at outdoor rinks in North Dakota and so I went to games before I was born, as a bundled-up infant, and as a child eager to volunteer in the concession stand (the only place with heat). Needless to say, I'm a bit of a hockey fan.

Years ago, I married a hockey player. We both attended UND Fighting Sioux games during college, and fortunate as we were to have an incredible college team, we were excited to move to a city that had a professional team. The year we moved to Phoenix was the year of the lock out, but every year after that we were season ticket holders.

When we moved to Europe, we watched the Coyotes play in the middle of the night wherever we were because we couldn't stand missing their best season in years. When we moved to Dallas, I couldn't wait for the Coyotes to come to town. Last weekend they came, and after 28+ years of attending hockey games, this goes down as my most memorable.

We arrived early in our red and white jerseys so we could watch warmups. I always watched warmups in Phoenix, usually with signs I thought were clever, like "Hanzal, so hot right now, Hanzal", and "Bryzzle fo' Shizzle." This time was going to be different because it was my first Phoenix away game so I had to be down on the glass for warmups to show my support.

Brock and I were the only two Coyotes fans down there from what we could tell, so Brock remarked "At least someone'll probably toss us a puck for once." "Yeah no kidding!" The team skated on to the ice and as I cheered and hit the glass, the announcement to watch out for flying pucks came on. I snapped one picture and seconds later I got nailed in the head with a puck. I felt it hit my skull so I grabbed my head and felt blood right away. Brock asked if I was ok and I said I was but pulled my hands away to see how much blood there was and Brock's face went white and he said he'd go get help. I felt my head again and the blood was pouring down my hair and on the side of my face. I leaned over and it started forming a pool of blood on the floor. Blood was flowing through my fingertips as I tried to apply pressure. Then a guy came right in front of me with his Dallas Stars jersey in his hands and said "here, let me put this on your head to stop the bleeding." I said "No way, I'm not getting my blood all over your jersey!!" He insisted and put pressure on the wound and tried to distract me with questions. (I still can't believe there people as nice as him in the world). I glanced up and saw several of the players looking over at me with concerned expressions; I smiled so they knew I was alright. I was still trying to watch them warm up. The paramedics arrived and I asked where the puck went. I needed that puck. They found it and I held it up while some of the players gave me the thumbs up.

Once the bleeding subsided, we headed up to the first aid room where I looked in the mirror at the mess. There's something awfully disgusting about bloody hair. While I was being bandaged up I found out that it was Scottie Upshall's puck that hit me so he was signing a stick for me. I think I was more excited about that and more anxious for Brock to take some pictures of my wound than I was to hear the paramedics explain their recommendations.

In the end, I made it to my seat just a few minutes after the puck dropped. The Coyotes didn't have their best game. They lost 6-3 and their captain got injured.

After the game we boarded the light rail and stood in the front because there were no seats left. Someone recognized me and asked how my head was and I ended up having to tell the story to all the passengers. Someone in the front read aloud what Upshall wrote on my stick which had the whole train laughing. I guess I provided some entertainment for a few people that night. I also like to think I represented Coyotes fans quite well!

I can't wait for the Coyotes to come back to town because I have some great ideas for a sign that might double as a shield during warmups, maybe with blood dripping from the letters. I'll probably wear a hat too.