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I thought the Cup would be staying in Detroit Tuesday night, but those pesky Penguins found a way... What a great game. It had scoring during regulation and it had suspense during overtime. Couldn't script a better hockey game from a fan's perspective. Of course if I were a die-hard Wings fan, I might be a little rattled. Thirty seconds away from the cup and then... BANG. Overtime. And not just a quick overtime. A marathon that ended with the youthful Penguins gaining a win and perhaps the belief that maybe they can pull off a miracle.

I was among Red Wing faithful at the Riv in downtown East Lansing, MI. The Riv is a great spot with a lot of history and a pretty loyal group of regulars. Great spot to just walk in without worrying about what you're wearing or what kind of crowd to hang with. I was there with a group of friends and my brother, Bryce, came down to hang. For a Monday night, there were a lot of people willing to put their jobs at risk by drinking straight through triple overtime. Have to love hockey fans.

It ended up being a lot of fun to have everyone on the edge of their seat or barstool for such a long evening. Every shot on goal seemed like it was going into the net according to the crowd in the bar. Made me smile. I was happy to be in a place that was so tuned in to the game. Most of the bar was wearing red and chanting whenever something went well for their team. When Petr Sykora hit the twine halfway through the third overtime, the rowdy crowd just turned their attention to the bar. A couple of groans and a few sighs. But Game 6 does offer fans of hockey another night (or two) of before we all turn our attention to summer...



Tune in to Stretch on Maxim Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio each Wednesday morning at 11am ET for NHL All-Star goalie Ryan Miller's weekly Stanley Cup Playoffs report.

 


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