February: Dallas Stars Alumni Game!

Back in February, Chris was honored to be invited to represent our local hockey rink in the Dallas Stars Alumni Game, an annual charity event in which former NHL hockey players play alongside local youth coaches in a fun game that takes place right after a Stars game at the American Airlines Center.

Chris was, as you can imagine, incredibly excited (and not a little nervous) to be able to play with some of his hockey heroes in front of a big crowd. The tickets to the Stars game were not cheap, so only a few of our family members splurged for the chance to see the Stars play the Blackhawks, followed by the alumni game. Noah's buddy Levi used his own money to buy a ticket, so he got to come along with us--and was granted special access! More about that later.

Before the game, the boys played some street hockey out in front of the AAC. Noah is wearing one of his jerseys from his games, and his buddy Levi is the blond kid wearing the #9 jersey with blue shoes.

They also took some shots at an inflatable goalie.

In fact, some friends of mine texted me later that Noah was featured on the pre-game coverage on TV!

We went inside and saw that many of the alumni were out signing autographs! The boys were so excited to meet these guys, and Noah had his hockey cards for autographs, along with his goalie helmet. Levi collected autographs on his jersey, plus extras for his grandparents on paper.

Kevin Colley signing Levi's jersey

Gerald Diduck

Noah with Andy Moog

Marty Turco, former Dallas Stars goalie!

He's my fave!

Hunter and his family also had tickets with us, so we met up with him!

Hunter with David McKee, a former NHL goalie 

Meeting Al Secord

We met up with our family members, who took the kids with them to their seats while I sat with Chris and his friend Tim, another coach from our rink who brought his wife as well.

Our family and friends made the big screen! Top row!

The Stars beat the Blackhawks 2-1! 

We all moved down to be right by the glass for the Alumni Game. It was so exciting! We ran into lots of friends, like Chrissy and Anthony:

The guys came out for warm-ups and the National Anthem!

There's Chris on the big screen!

Chris was assigned #47 and is in a green jersey

 

Noah and Levi cheering him on!

Turco makes a save!

Our team lost, but it was all so much fun--listening to Marty Turco, who had a mic on through the game; listening to the funny commentary and interviews; watching the coaches try to keep up with the older alumni (and vice versa!)...

Turco!

After the game, Noah, Levi and I got to go down to the makeshift locker room and wait to see the guys!

It was another opportunity for autographs and photos, although the boys had to brave the locker room stink...

Meeting Ed Belfour!

The rest of the family got tired of waiting for us so they came down, too! Drew got to meet Al Secord, among others.

Chris could write a really great blog about the experience--maybe I'll get him to add to this one at some point. For Noah, it was pretty memorable to see his dad out there skating where the pros play, alongside athletes of whom Noah has heard stories and seen YouTube highlights. Unreal!