A puck duck review

Being close to the ice at a Pirates' game has its advantages - we were in the 4th row last night - but I like being a little farther away. It's less stressful for me, especially when the girls bring a friend to the game. I did a refresher on the Almeida Puck Duck since we are NOT a try-to-catch-the-puck family. I'd much rather spend $10 to buy a puck in the team's store than take a trip to the emergency room.

The Almeida Puck Duck

L. and I roamed the stands taking photos for Seen Team while G. and her friend happily chatted in their special 10-year-old ways while eating fried dough and popcorn and drinking soda in their seats.

Since this is only our second season as Pirates' fans, we had some new learnings last night:

A hockey stick really can go through the gap between the boot and blade of a skate and get stuck there during a fast moving game.
A goal doesn't count if it is nudged in by a glove (I still think the Pirates were robbed with that one!)
I can see the forecast of the evening's weather via the video screen scoreboard. Helpful information inside the Civic Center.
The "V section" guys are back for another season sporting new t-shirts (these guys chant and cheer on the team and my kids think they're fun).
A broken glass panel happens more often than I thought. And like last year, those guys had it replaced in less than 15 minutes.
Sometimes "Sweet Caroline" takes a night off and is replaced with a Grease song.
Silver bracelet clasps can spring open when you fiddle with them and fall between the seats in front of you (I know this but my 10-year-old just learned that lesson) so that at the end of the game you have to pick it up off of a gooey, beer-smelly floor (and no, mom left the dirty work to the bracelet owner).
The game will always go into overtime then not score and force a shoot out on the nights I really want to get home at a decent hour (sadly, they lost in the end).