Post-production Photos from Games 1 and 2 (Updated w/Chris's weekend report)

Since our pal, Chris Jerina, was away from his photo editing software, we got the raw stuff earlier. In case you're interested, here's the post-prod versions of the photo sets. Amazing the difference.

Game 1

Game 2

And because I can, here are a few teasers:

How hot is this? Very.

I know it sucks when Dimples gets the hook but, really,
tuque + dimples = more adorable than Basket of Puppies,
and that's math you can believe in.

All Photos: Chris Jerina

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Update! Chris gives us this fun weekend report:

Friday 5/15
Arrived in Winnipeg at 12:30, picked up and arrived at Fairmont at around 1. Sign seen on the way: "Beer goes great with hockey." Indeed.

The hotel is located at a 4 way, 6 lane intersection, requiring the use of an underground tunnel known as the "circus," which is essentially what it was in attempting to just cross the darn street. (On the way back from the game, we just j-walked... much easier!) Oh yeah, and it was snowing in the afternoon. I thought I was done with this winter stuff!

Picked up the media pass and tickets at 5:30ish and headed into the game after attempting to eat at the restaurant under the arena with some guys staying at the same hotel (who were meeting up with the Moose owner there (who was able to laugh at the wearing of an Aeros jersey). After taking 20 minutes just to get our drinks, we bailed. Warmups > food ;)

The first game, as recapped earlier, very boring. So I'll just recall the noticeable things not necessarily caught in the score sheet. (Some things previously noted)

• There's something special about 10k fans singing along to the Canadian National Anthem that just gave me a chill of excitement of the upcoming game
• The first time Canuck prospect Cody Hogson, playing his first pro game, touched the puck, a quiet came over the crowd in anticipation of what he was going to do. Between Games 1/2, I got the opinion that the majority of Moose fans are actually knowledgeable of not only the Moose but also the entire Canucks team (something not seen in Milwaukee for the most-part)
  

After the Aeros tied the game up, my first thought was "this could end up being a long game," sadly not the case with Mantioba breaking the tie shortly after.

Hotel room was OK, a whistling/humming came from the heater, but otherwise no problems. (Unlike the others I was with, whose room had a litany of troubles: poor flushing toilet, whistling windows, broken thermostat, wobbly chair and being located directly above the 19th floor kitchen meant smelling whatever was being cooked up at the current moment.)

Saturday 5/16
Felt obligated to finally try a Tim Horton's, so had the pleasure of navigating the "circus" again in attempts to get there. Less hassle this time, and enjoyed 2 Bostom Creme donuts (way sweeter than Dunkin Donuts equivalents in the states... too sweet)

Decided to check out Portage Place mall, was 90% womens/juniors fashion, not much interest for guys (in terms of shopping). Had lunch at "Pita Pit," quite fascinating, a fast food place that sells a variety of pita bread sandwiches, rather tasty, would recommend.

On to the interesting night... ate at some restaurant just past the arena called Rinkside. Food was OK, but the room had a, let's just say, interestingly disturbing aroma.

On to the game, gates opened at 6:30 and arrived about then. I've never seen a concourse so packed at the opening of the gates! Was handed a "Go Moose Go" fan, and little did I know it how annoying those things would be.

Had the opportunity to meet Carson McMillan's cousin who was excited about Carson's future with Houston/Minnesota. (Carson ended up being a scratch)

Ended up shooting from the seats rather than the photo sections, to "enjoy" the full ambiance of the fans. We attempted to make the states proud by singing with the star spangled banner, but unfortunately 3 people can't compare to 10k. As soon as "O Canada" started, with drunks trying to sing along in our section, it was already known this could be a long night regardless of the outcome.

Falling behind 2-0 early only gave rise to louder fandom to a cheer of "anton, anton, anton..." apparently "Khudobin" is too hard to pronounce for Canadians. :D Annoying drunk fans enjoyed never shutting up to the ire of not only us, but the majority of the Moose fans, too. (Primarily due to nuggets like "You guys suck, Canada kicks ass." Psst, a number of Aeros are Canadian.) Combine them with the people on the aisle who, when realizing the noise from the paper fans annoyed us to no end, found it a smart idea to kick up the frequency of their usage. Mind you, we were keeping to ourselves, not making a scene, etc.

Thankfully the usher was excellent and after complaining to her, she asked them to keep it down and would check up every 10-15 minutes to make sure they were. Employee of the month (and we told her as much, too!).

Highlight of the night was a fan near us came over and talked to us, and we complained about the paper fans and offered him a dollar bill to take the fan from the seats of the drunks as they were gone at intermission. We promptly tore up the fan, much to the pleasure of most of the fans around us (surprisingly). Apparently that's worth about $1.15 CAN at the moment, so its even better than getting a loonie! (I suggested he frame it though with the ticket, gotta be able to laugh, right?)

With about 2 minutes left in the game, drunk fans decided it was a good idea to start a "na na na hey hey goodbye" chant to the Aeros. Apparently, they cant keep time and ended up being an epic fail. I really had the urge to ask, "Was it over when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor!? When the going gets tough, the tough get..." but didn't need to direct any attention and besides would they even get it?

The game itself was rather exhausting dealing with the fans, so I just had a quick drink and went to sleep.

Sun 5/17

Timmy's for breakfast again, this time trying "old-fashioned glazed" donuts and a French Vanilla coffee. Quick question for any Canadian readers... it is a Timmy-wide policy that donuts must be stacked top-on-top, resulting in one really heavily frosted donut and one without any? Really annoying!

Walked around downtown Winnipeg enjoying the 40-50 degree weather. The architecture in Winnipeg is quite beautiful, with a mix of both contemporary and historic building design. Wish I could say more on it, but not being familiar with any of it doesn't help other than "it's pretty." ;)

Had lunch at Earl's after being recommended by someone from the Wild, rather good food, then headed to the airport for O'Hare.

Given the choice to go again, experiencing what I did, despite the obnoxious drunk fans, I would recommend it to anyone. (Every arena has a few stupid fans... sadly). I would suggest looking into staying at the Radisson though (half a block from the arena), as it is closer to anything of interest. The playoff atmosphere at the arena was amazing compared to any of the games I was at in Milwaukee, Peoria, or Rockford. Plus I'm glad I went as I have a more annoying way to cheer than a cowbell at the games next season (hooray paper fans!)

Finally, the marketing and production values of the Moose are second to none of teams I've seen:

• My media passes were laminated, with all of my info printed on the pass (fancy!)
• The advertising around the arena made it impossible to be downtown and not realize the Moose were in the playoff hunt.
• Jumbotron display/screens were excellent!! During warm-ups, they put the camera on each Aeros player and showed #, name and position, then showed a rundown of accomplishments of both team and a comparison between the teams and their arenas. (I was surprised that Houston's arena holds 18k, until I remember its where the Rockets play too.)