The craziest day: part II.

So on Saturday after my freak out about Dan Lefevour, there was another very important thing to be done. As I continued seating for dinner before game 5 of the Blackhawks Preditors series, I had many thoughts running through my head. I felt a little more confident than usual that we would win this game, but as I said in earlier posts, I didn't want to get "too cocky, Starfox..." so i kept my cool. I went out to watch the anthem and it was insane as usual, and I stayed out there to watch the puck drop. The time in between the anthem and the puck drop, i just got this rush of emotion, like I knew that once this puck dropped i would be witnessing yet another amazing Blackhawks game, and it made me very happy.
When the Preds scored first, that feeling went quickly from anticipation to kind of an "oh crap" kind of feeling. with Andrew Ladd's goal helping the situation, and Hjallmerson taking the lead for us before 1st intermission, I felt better, but was still being cautious. And as we still led 3-2 after the second, I started getting much more comfortable. And I think they did too...
10:00 into the third period is the cutoff point where we can't let anyone take alcohol out of the bar, so that's pretty much when my duties are done up front besides trying to stop people from doing so. So I go to the back of the dining room to put the glasses on the table (the dishwashers are really slow so we don't get them until around that point in the night), so I don't have the TV access that I have up front, but I still get the radio. At the point I went back, the Preds had tied it at 3, and I didn't realize till a little bit later that they went ahead 4-3. I was getting really antsy at this point, and rushed to put the glasses on the table, I had no concept of how much time was left, but my heart just kept beating progressively faster knowing that Hossa had gotten a 5 minute penalty (I didn't see the hit till later)...and then all of a sudden, i heard a giant roar in the crowd and ran up front as fast as I can...and I got there just in time to see Kaner do the unthinkable.
He did WHAT???
I could not explain the mood of myself and everyone else in the building when that happened. It was a euphoric explosion, and my already intense love for Patrick Kane became even more intense. That's what we call being clutch, kids. Swabs told me that it was the first time in Stanley Cup history that a team was shorthanded and pulled their goalie and scored a goal. Nice stat!
So for the first time at work, we had an extra intermission. People flooded into the bar so much that they had to stand on the outside where I usually stand, so I got to talk to alot of different (and very drunk) fans. Because of the no alcohol allowed out rule, many people had to stay in the bar to finish their drinks so they wouldn't miss anything, which means i had to too. But I managed to sneak out to watch, and for the rest of that Hossa penalty I was literally shaking. I knew we could kill it, because the Preds are pretty much god-awful on the power play. And when i was still cheering for the kill, Hossa came right out. A fan behind me said, "come on, Hossa, you owe us for that". and then...
The goal horn went off, and the building absolutely exploded. It was so incredibly loud, and i was jumping around and hugging people I didn't even know, and then celebrating with the fans that i did know. People threw their towels on the ice and screamed even more. It was the third loudes thing I have ever experienced, the first two being Konerko's grand slam in game 2 of the 2005 world series, and the second being Scott Podsednik's walk off homer in the same game. It was so loud in there even during the three stars of the game, when poor Sarah Kustok tried to do her postgame interview but failed because of the noise level, and Hossa just gave the fans a friendly wave and headed back into the locker room. I could just imagine the boys in the locker room all pumped up, Kaner especially looked like a big ball of Joakim-esque energy.
So for once the hour I stayed after the game ended went by really fast, because i was celebrating with everyone. I still can't believe it even as i'm writing it now. There was only one more piece of the crazy sports day puzzle left to be put together...
But before i write part III, I will say that after that amazing Hawks victory on Saturday, i just want more Blackhawks, all the time. That's how i know I am in love with this team. And i certainly can't wait till tonight. <3