Well it's been almost 40 years since I turned pro and I've seen quite a number of games over the years, but last night was the first time in my life that I've ever been invited to go to a game with a girl...  Sweet!  It came about in a round about way, but it was really pleasant watching the game with Lori Turoff.  She and my Koguma Dojo Daisempai have season tickets to the NJ Devils and last night she originally had a conflict, so Daisempai invited me to go along.  As luck would have it, Daisempai got ill during the day and so Lori graciously reorganized herself to go with me...  It was my first visit to the Newark Prudential Center, a short 30-minute PATH train ride from NYC and it is indeed a great building to watch a hockey game.  As for the game itself, unfortunately the Devils gave everything they had in the first 10 minutes, going up 3-0, before the Panthers chipped away coming back with 4 unanswered goals and stealing the Devils home ice advantage with a 4-3 victory.  Can't do that in the playoffs and hope to see more rounds...  Interestingly, both teams replaced their starting goaltenders after they gave up 3 goals.  Hadn't seen that before.  I also hadn't heard some of the derogatory chants the Devils fans came up with during the evening; after each home team goal the fans chant to the beat of the song Rock and Roll Rock "You suck!"  And the Jersey response to the 'secret', vague whistle that the Ranger's fans follow with "Potvin sucks!" is replaced in New Jersey with the phrase: "Rangers suck! Pittsburgh swallows!"  Pretty harsh in a family environment, but, hey, that's Jersey, so the rivalries are clear - at least in the Devils' fans minds...   As it turns out, I am listed as a New Jersey Devils alumni due to the fact that they previously were the Colorado Rockies, with whom I skated for a couple of seasons, so I found it interesting that the only holdover from the Rockies days is the song that is still played when the Devils score - Rock and Roll Rock!  It had been a while since I heard it, but I clearly remember that pounding beat as our entrance music when we skated out on to our home pond to start each game...  (I'll have to find a link to the tune and post it... ;o)