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Ok, so I have the opportunity to see my first ever live hockey game while I'm in the US this Winter and I'm very keen to do just that. Trouble is I know next to NOTHING about the sport really and I'm just wondering about a few things.
I'll be in Massachusetts for most of my trip so I'm thinking that the Boston Bruins are the team to get tickets for. How hard is that to do realistically?
Are there other teams, college teams that might be a better option for me to see?
In terms of getting tickets is the best option to get them via the Boston Bruin's website and can I actually get tickets now, in October, for games in December or January? Will it get harder to get tickets as the season progresses?
Is there unwritten etiquette I need to follow?
In terms of booking seats I can imagine that I'm much better off getting tickets in the seating blocks where the fans of the team I came to see are. (I don't want to be the lone lamb in the Lion's Den. ) If I go to buy Bruin's tickets for a game will they be in the same areas as all the other Bruin's ticket holders or could I inadvertantly end up in sports fan hell?
Are there particular games coming up that look like they will be good ones? I don't really know anything about the teams or how they're doing but I would like to see a good game.
Lastly, I've noted there's at least one Bruins game played at Fenway Park this season but it looks like an outdoor game and I'm thinking my Southern Hemisphere thermostat probably won't cope with that. Aside from Fenway Park where else do they play their home games AND are they indoors?
Sorry for the really dumb questions (I did say I was clueless about this) but we really don't have much in the way of hockey here and I'm not a huge sports fan anyway so I'm very green.
I would really appreciate any information you can offer.
Hello, getting tickets for the Bruins if you're in Mass will be your best bet. When they are playing well like the last few years, they draw good crowds, but you should be able to get tickets through their website. If for some reason you can't, you can always go to stubhub.com for tickets. They used to have tickets in the last two rows of the balcony for 20 or 25 dollars, but I moved from Mass two years ago, not sure if they still do that. The game in Fenway Park is a one time only thing on New Years Day, the rest of the home games are in an arena. Try to get tickets for a game against the Montreal Canadiens if possible, this is their top rival, and one of the best rivalries in sports, usually a great game to see. However, if you've never seen a game, and just looking to go for fun, any NHL game live is great. As for college, there are plenty to choose from in Boston that have great hockey. Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern and Harvard are all nearby and have great college atmospheres.
Good luck, hope this helps, and hope you enjoy your stay up there, it's a great city, I'm hoping to move back there asap. Hopefully to be able to catch a few games there myself.
If you can't get any tickets to a Bruins' game you can also try the Springfield Falcons Springfield Falcons - Home or the Worcester Sharks Home Page - Worcester Sharks - AHL. Two teams which play at the level below the NHL.
They are also divisional rivals and will play against each other December 4th and 26th and January 13th.
a lot of it has been covered - minor league is a great way to get a feel and not spend as much money - bigswede has good suggestions there
as Arch noted there is a good college hockey scene in boston and those games can be a lot of fun - they aren't at the competative level of professional, but you get the school element which can be a lot of fun and the tickets also tend to be a little more friendly on the wallet
also as he noted the fenway park game is a one time thing - other than that all the games you find will be in an arena for all professional/collegiate hockey ...... it can be a bit cooler in the arena so you may want to wear a sweatshirt or dress in layers if needed as each persons tolerance is different
the bruins play at the TD Banknorth Garden - this is the same place the professional basketball team plays at
as far as "seating block" of tickets, in american pro sports this concept doesn't really exist
in some collegiate sports there will be a block of seats for the visiting school to distribute which will have an area of visiting team fans
however, in the pros the bulk of the arena is home team fans - visiting team fans can get together and sometimes buy group tickets, but they are individually organized and tend not to be that big
in american football visiting team fans often like to buy near the sideline where their team stands, in baseball they like to buy over the visiting dugout and in hockey they tend to like to buy where their team will shoot twice (the goalies change sides of the ice each period - as there are 3 periods a goalie will be on one end for 2 of them and the other in between)
for the most part though, visiting fans are just scattered in with the home team fans - it's not like soccer games in england where you'll have a block of visiting teams fans escorted in and out of the stadium and having a relatively safe "block"
fans interaction is usually pretty good, although things can get stupid as well - football seems to have the highest rate of dumb behaviour
Another vote for minor league games- the quality of play in the AHL is still pretty high and for what it would cost you to get nosebleed seats to an NHL game, you can get below the glass seats (first 8-10 rows) for a bush league game. And below the glass is a lot of fun- it's like the players are going to crash into you when they check each other and you can nearly feel the plexiglass vibrate.
No special etiquette rules- just if you go to the restroom or concession stand during a period, wait until a stoppage in play to go to or from your seat.
I'm not from Boston but the University team may be a cheaper altenative to learn the game. BU and BC are both good and Harvard usually competitive. See those first then the Bruins so you can appreciate the difference.
..Try to get tickets for a game against the Montreal Canadiens if possible, this is their top rival, and one of the best rivalries in sports, usually a great game to see...
Good luck, hope this helps, and hope you enjoy your stay up there, it's a great city, I'm hoping to move back there asap. Hopefully to be able to catch a few games there myself.
Thanks for all that info Arch, very much appreciated. Particularly the bit about the Canadiens. I figured there'd be a particular rivalry I didn't want to miss.
You've helped a good deal and I'm really looking forward to my trip and I'm especially looking forward to finally being able to see a real hockey game. If I discover that I really LOVE hockey I might manage more than one game! Although I've got a list a mile long of all the things I want to do and see and experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigSwede
If you can't get any tickets to a Bruins' game you can also try the Springfield Falcons Springfield Falcons - Home or the Worcester Sharks Home Page - Worcester Sharks - AHL. Two teams which play at the level below the NHL.
They are also divisional rivals and will play against each other December 4th and 26th and January 13th.
Awesome Swede! Thank you. Think maybe a Sharks game might be a good place to start.
With AHL games do they have all the pre-game hoopla like they do with American football?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robhu
I don't know much about hockey either. I just watch it and wait for the fight to break out.
That's the only part I understand.
Shhhh!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Finger Laker
...... it can be a bit cooler in the arena so you may want to wear a sweatshirt or dress in layers if needed as each persons tolerance is different
....for the most part though, visiting fans are just scattered in with the home team fans - it's not like soccer games in england where you'll have a block of visiting teams fans escorted in and out of the stadium and having a relatively safe "block"
fans interaction is usually pretty good, although things can get stupid as well - football seems to have the highest rate of dumb behaviour
Thanks for all that info Finger Laker, much appreciated, particularly the above ^ points.
I confess, I am a little unsure about how to take "fans" and didn't want to end up in a situation like I know can happen here with the footy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beachmouse
Another vote for minor league games- the quality of play in the AHL is still pretty high and for what it would cost you to get nosebleed seats to an NHL game, you can get below the glass seats (first 8-10 rows) for a bush league game. And below the glass is a lot of fun- it's like the players are going to crash into you when they check each other and you can nearly feel the plexiglass vibrate.
Excellent! That's what I was wondering about and you've covered it great bm. I really would like to see the action up close if I can, not that I'm going to understand much more than the basics but sitting way up in the gods trying to work out what is going on or blowing a couple of hundred just to spend the night staring at the big screen isn't really what I had in mind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beachmouse
No special etiquette rules- just if you go to the restroom or concession stand during a period, wait until a stoppage in play to go to or from your seat.
Sounds just like the theatre!
I take it the concession stand is where the hotdogs are?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oildog
I'm not from Boston but the University team may be a cheaper altenative to learn the game. BU and BC are both good and Harvard usually competitive. See those first then the Bruins so you can appreciate the difference.
Yep! That sounds like a plan Oildog! I've really only got movies to go by because I don't recall there ever being much more than quick bites of hockey on the tele here, on Sports Tonight or something like that.
If the Hockeyroos are playing we might get the whole game but that's field hockey. Hockey (or ice hockey as we know it) isn't really televised here.
Really just want to attend a game to see what I think so University or AHL is a good place to start because I'm really not going to know the difference anyway.
Gotta say, thanks again guys for all the info, it's very much appreciated.
Just a couple more dumb questions, if you don't mind.
Another vote for minor league games- the quality of play in the AHL is still pretty high and for what it would cost you to get nosebleed seats to an NHL game, you can get below the glass seats (first 8-10 rows) for a bush league game. And below the glass is a lot of fun- it's like the players are going to crash into you when they check each other and you can nearly feel the plexiglass vibrate.
No special etiquette rules- just if you go to the restroom or concession stand during a period, wait until a stoppage in play to go to or from your seat.
One more etiquette favor... at least where I go to watch games... If you're returning to your seat after a stoppage and play resumes before you reach your seat, either sit on the steps or squat low enough so those in your line of site won't have their site line blocked. I always follow that rule and I appreciate it when others do also.
And I agree that seeing an AHL game would give you a lot of bang for your buck... they're a lot of fun.
One more etiquette favor... at least where I go to watch games... If you're returning to your seat after a stoppage and play resumes before you reach your seat, either sit on the steps or squat low enough so those in your line of site won't have their site line blocked. I always follow that rule and I appreciate it when others do also.
And I agree that seeing an AHL game would give you a lot of bang for your buck... they're a lot of fun.
No sweat! Probably won't get out of my seat once I'm in it anyway, well maybe at half time. Hockey does have a half time, right?
Yeah, nothing worse than having your view blocked. I'm very aware of that no matter where I am.
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) If I go to buy Bruin's tickets for a game will they be in the same areas as all the other Bruin's ticket holders or could I inadvertantly end up in sports fan hell? 
Particularly the bit about the Canadiens. I figured there'd be a particular rivalry I didn't want to miss. 
