Hurricane Hat Trick

On Friday night DH and I went to see the Carolina Hurricanes play the Phoenix Coyotes.  Friday morning we had snow flurries, which is somewhat unusual for Raleigh and quite unusual for Raleigh on November 21. With tickets to a hockey game in the evening, it certainly felt like winter is coming in a big way.

We arrived early and I took some pictures during the pre-game skate when both teams come out to warm up.  I got a few good shots including one of Eric Staal (number 12, upper right) and one of Tuomo Ruutu (number 15, lower left) As usual for a weeknight, it was a late arriving crowd and I got right up against the glass.

The Hurricanes haven't been playing great and Eric Staal, one of our star forwards, was in a slump going into the game. I am happy to report that he had a hat trick -- scoring three goals during the first two periods. That was really nice to see. The Hurricanes won the game 5-2 on the strength of the Staal's hat trick despite getting clogged up in the neutral zone by the Coyotes' defense.

DH have been mini-season ticket holders for the Hurricanes for several years now and this was not the first hat trick that we've seen but it's always fun to see people fling their hats on the ice in celebration.