GO HAWKS GO!

I love hockey! The WHL (Western Hockey League) season officially starts this Saturday and a friend and I are roadtripping to Kent to see the Seattle Thunderbirds take on my Portland Winterhawks.

My favorite thing about the fall is Halloween and the start of the hockey season. I miss hockey all summer. The smell of the ice (oh yeah, it has a smell), the speed, the skill, the hard hits and most importantly, the fights. There is nothing better than a good clean hockey fight.

I became a hockey fan in the late 90's. The company I worked for had a suite at the Rose Garden and they would give us tickets to events and there were always tickets for hockey.

The Hawks were in the playoffs and my mom and dad really wanted to go, it was free, why not. I had the best time and even though we lost in the finals, I was hooked.

I couldn't wait to start going next season. I became obsessed, I went to every game in the Rose Garden, I went to every event where the players would be, I was a hockey nut.

That first year that I was a fan, we lost early in the playoffs and I was devastated. I wasn't done watching hockey yet, so I started watching the NHL on TV. I didn't know anything about the teams, so I started watching teams that had former Winterhawks on them.

Marian Hossa played for the Hawks and won a Memorial Cup with them. He was playing for the Ottawa Senators at the time. They had an amazing goalie, Patrick Lalime. They became my team.

My favorite part of hockey is the goalie. I have a little bit of a goalie obsession. It's amazing to me what they can do with their bodies, their pads, glove and stick to keep the puck out of the net.

Since becoming a hockey fan, I've traveled to Washington, California and New York state as well as Vancouver, BC and Ottawa, ON for hockey games. When I first became a fan, I would say I went to at least 40 games a season, now I'm down to between 10 and 20.

I've been really lucky and been able to see some of the top players in the NHL, some who started in the WHL. I've seen the Stanley Cup in person and let me tell you, that was one of the greatest, most emotional moments of my life!

I met one of my closest friends, because of our love for the same goalie. Thank you, Lanny. Without you, I wouldn't have met Melo and without her, I'm not sure where I'd be in my life without her, Nella and Banana.

Less than 5 days and I'll be in Kent, watching the puck drop. The smell of the ice, the speed of their skates, the amazing goalie saves. The excitement is building.

GO HAWKS GO!