June 23, 2004
FRISCO, TX - It is a rare occasion on the ice at Deja Blue Arena when a hockey game's outcome seems totally insignificant. This was the case last Saturday, however, when the members of two Dallas Stars Internet message boards fans hosted its first "Battle of the Boards" hockey game at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Frisco.
The idea for the Battle of the Boards came about last season when members of the two Internet communities decided to take their differences of opinion to the ice. Many members had been active in various hockey leagues and thought it a logical step to play a competitive game and, at the same time, provide a fun event for Stars fans to celebrate hockey during the summer.
Although there was indeed a hockey game, the success of the day could be better measured by the amount of fun that people had and the camaraderie and sportsmanship showed between the two teams.
Participants from DallasStars.com's Official Message Boards and the Stars Unofficial Message Boards donned contrasting black and white sweaters and played hockey in an all-out war to claim bragging rights over one another.
Although the pace of the game might have been a little slower than fans in attendance were accustomed to watching professional hockey from seats at American Airlines Center, the participants still found it extremely competitive as the two teams combined for 13 goals in a hard-fought match.
After finding themselves in a 2-0 deficit early, the Unofficial Board team battled back to win the game by an extremely close 7-6 margin.
Neither team led by more than two goals at one time, nor did any period end with a team leading by more than one.
Leading the charge for the Unofficial Team was the remarkable play of 'ModanoTheBest' (his screen-name on the boards), who netted the first hat trick in the contest's short history.
The Official team, or Big O's, were led by the play of 'thisismattwade', who finished the game with two goals and two assists, including a goal with 36.7 seconds remaining to pull the Official board within one goal. But they would get no closer, despite their best efforts to tie the game.
"It was obvious that once the puck was dropped, everyone was wanting to give their best effort and compete," said Unofficial board member 'JudgePLM.' "Their passion reminded me of why I love hockey so much."
In the end, this event reminded everyone in attendance that his or her love of hockey was a common theme that seemed to bring people closer together rather than farther apart.
"I've heard nothing but positive comments from those that were there," said 'minerva1221.' "This was an absolute blast and come next "Battle of the Boards," I hope to be on the ice!"
Just another example of how the game of hockey brings people together.
Edited by LoboFan07, 23 June 2004 - 01:47 PM.
