Olympic Break afford me the chance to take a (much needed) vacation and it just so happens that I picked cities with ECHL teams. I don't have pictures from Charlotte, but tons from Carolina.

First, Charlotte was holding their "First Annual Midnight Hockey" event. This was a terrible game for Charlotte, they came out completely flat and just got pounded by Toledo, 7-0. But more notable than the play were the fans, and not in a good way. My brother-in-law looked at the sparse crowd and said that it was the most people he'd ever seen for a game. And the majority of them were drunk, and not happy drunk, either. I'm not sure how they afforded to get drunk, since beer cost more than it does at the VC! Most amusing heckle: "What's a walleye? Is that like a Guppie? Toledo Gup Gup Guppies!" Secruity was called out several times because of fights in the stands. But at least the guy in front of us was good-natured when we broke out the counting and "It's All Your Fault!" Alex Tanguy's kid brother played for Toledo and had a good night.

So, off to Charleston. Some very kind soul walked up to us in the ticket line and just gave us lower bowl seats! (if you're reading, thank you!) It was "Pink In The Rink" night. Remember that 7-0 thrashing Toledo laid of Charlotte? They were on the wrong side of a 6-0 score in Charleston. The Stingrays just looked that much better. They could cover up their mistakes because they were quicker. They outworked Toledo every step of the way. Stingrays fans love their team, know their hockey, and were generally fabulous. No fights in the stands here. I recognized Hauswirth, Yeo, and Bruess from development and rookie camps. Finley, Dubuc, and Ford didn't play.

Pictures! Yes, there's a lot of pink.