Things have been pretty hectic since arriving in Punta Arenas . As I have said before the tournament organizer here Alejandro Trabas has made this tournament into one of the best events I have ever experienced . It is unbelievable what is happening here ... Seriously I feel like a pro hockey player ! Tv coverage of our first game , radio interviews after , getting swarmed by 600 fans for pictures , and the cherry on top is the hotel we are staying in as guests of the mayor here .... If I could vote here he would have my vote hands down ;) from the sounds of it each of our rooms is about $ 4500 for our stay. We are staying at Casino Dreams , it is a 5 star hotel .
So comfort has never reached this level on any of my trips before . Coming here to play has been possibly the best decision I have ever made . Win or lose we came here to help popularize the sport and all we had to do was show up , Alejandro has given us all the tools to make that happen . On this day we didn't have any press related events and had no games or ice time , so we decided to hit the spa . Yesterday before our televised game we went for massages and today we decided to hit the sauna and pool !! It was very relaxing almost too relaxing . All the facilities here are beautiful .
After a great nap we went to the rink to watch Los Nordicos vs C.A.U. ... It was a close heated match between the Argentines and Chileans ... Kinda like Canada vs U.S.A. ;) they get along off the ice but on the ice it was a bit different . The Argentines wanted to win after getting spanked by us , the newspaper called us relentless but I fact we turned it down a notch after 7-1 first period, can't blame the press as this was their first time watching ice hockey ;) our good buddy Caleb Duckworth from the States but living in Santiago helped Los Nordicos in this big battle. Last time these 2 teams met the Argentines won something like 27-1 but this time Caleb came to the rescue and the game was very close until the end with the final score being 10-6 ... It was a good game for both teams and was quite entertaining for the 600+ fans ... Yes the fans just keep coming and from what we hear there is more and more interest from the locals to play hockey , public skating is jam packed and people are getting into the sport . The seed has been planted and is growing FAST !
After the game we headed back to our hotel with Los Nordicos and went up to Sky Bar for drinks and then we hit the casino ... Yes I lost but it was fun hanging out gambling . Second time I have ever done this , not my cup of tea but was great hanging out with friends ! Have a game the day after so going to bed at 4 am is not the best plan but oh well LOL ...
So comfort has never reached this level on any of my trips before . Coming here to play has been possibly the best decision I have ever made . Win or lose we came here to help popularize the sport and all we had to do was show up , Alejandro has given us all the tools to make that happen . On this day we didn't have any press related events and had no games or ice time , so we decided to hit the spa . Yesterday before our televised game we went for massages and today we decided to hit the sauna and pool !! It was very relaxing almost too relaxing . All the facilities here are beautiful .
After a great nap we went to the rink to watch Los Nordicos vs C.A.U. ... It was a close heated match between the Argentines and Chileans ... Kinda like Canada vs U.S.A. ;) they get along off the ice but on the ice it was a bit different . The Argentines wanted to win after getting spanked by us , the newspaper called us relentless but I fact we turned it down a notch after 7-1 first period, can't blame the press as this was their first time watching ice hockey ;) our good buddy Caleb Duckworth from the States but living in Santiago helped Los Nordicos in this big battle. Last time these 2 teams met the Argentines won something like 27-1 but this time Caleb came to the rescue and the game was very close until the end with the final score being 10-6 ... It was a good game for both teams and was quite entertaining for the 600+ fans ... Yes the fans just keep coming and from what we hear there is more and more interest from the locals to play hockey , public skating is jam packed and people are getting into the sport . The seed has been planted and is growing FAST !
After the game we headed back to our hotel with Los Nordicos and went up to Sky Bar for drinks and then we hit the casino ... Yes I lost but it was fun hanging out gambling . Second time I have ever done this , not my cup of tea but was great hanging out with friends ! Have a game the day after so going to bed at 4 am is not the best plan but oh well LOL ...
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