2017-18 Anaheim Ducks Season Grades: The Right Wings
"Pucks of the Feather" begins a new series of "Anaheim fan stories". Ciara Durant throws an open washer, telling the story of visiting her first live game "Ducks".
This week I was asked a rather complicated question: "What is your personal favorite duck moment?" With so many incredible moments in the history of Anaheim Ducks, it was difficult to narrow it down. However, after much contemplation, I finally got it.
January 1, 2016, against the Vancouver Canucks, I had to go to my first game. However, due to procrastination, I could not get my passport on time. So I missed my first game in the NHL. It was painful to sit at home listening to the game, and not watch it.
For me, it was finally possible to see the Ducks in action. On my twenty-first birthday my father surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas to visit my uncle. My uncle is one of my biggest supporters, and I was so excited to see him and my cousin. It was a good twenty-first birthday.
Parking was an absolute hassle. However, as soon as we got out of the truck and went to the T-Mobile arena, I felt absolutely healthy. The smile on my face was ten miles wide, when I saw a sea of orange and black jersey.
We took our seats, rising in the bow and waiting in anticipation of the beginning of the game. My uncle did not know anything about hockey, so he forced me to promise that I would tell him about it.
I'm not usually overly excited. However, when the starting line occupied the ice, I entered the "fan-girl" mode.
At the end of Vegas, this game was pretty unprecedented for them. Of course, Mark-André Fleury did not pass the night without any impressive saves. However, for Anaheim it was a different story. After they entered the season with considerable injury to the team, they finally returned to the understanding of "normality."
Jacob Silververberg and the chemistry of Andrew Kollyano on the ice that night sparked a flame in the Anaheim whiskers. 13: 32 in the first period, Kollyano turned the puck back to the top and launched his wrist in the direction of Silverberg. Jakob overturned the puck into the net, scoring the first goal of Anaheim in the evening.
Anaheim almost brought the score to 2-0 in the second period after the gate of Captain Ryan Getzlaf. However, the coach of Golden Knights Gerard Gallant set a task. After the review it was revealed that Ricard Ruckell, who was on the field, did not get offside. Thus, the score remained 1-0 in just the second period.
7:01 in the third period, quarterback Josh Manson struggled to pull the puck out of the boards at the defensive end. After valorous efforts, he managed to steal the puck. Manson passed it through the ice to Ryan Goetzlaf. While the game continued, Manson managed to pave the way between Getzlaf and the network. The puck connected with its stick and beat Fleury with five holes.
The real hero of this game was easy Ryan Miller. For those of you who do not know me very well, John Gibson is one of my favorite players in Utah. Especially after his efforts to keep the team in the race for the playoffs this season. You can imagine my disappointment when he was injured during my first game.
When Gibson did not return after the second period, it seemed that Vegas saw this as a chance to return. The first two periods in combination, they only managed thirteen shot attempts. During the third, however, they were twenty. Compare this with the Duck attempts for 20 shots for the entire game, and you assume that they would come from behind to win it.
Ryan Miller, being an impressive veteran, supports the goalkeeper, who he saved every shot that came to his mind. He not only saved the game for the Ducks, but also completely closed the Golden Knights.
My uncle, who looked bored during the first two periods, finally swelled and went into the game. He tried to get "Go Knights Go!", Scoring with his feet, but did not win. When the game ended with the disconnection of Anaheim, he informed me that Anaheim and I were now his "enemies".
This moment that I experienced was incredible. This further strengthened my love for hockey and for ducks. The best part of the entire event was able to experience it with one of my biggest fans.
