The Falcons game ended around 4:15 pm, meaning I had 45 minutes until the start of the Atlanta Thrashers game. I left the Georgia Dome, walked across the park and was at the Philips Arena within 5 minutes. It was the shortest distance I have had to travel between two venues when attending two games in the same day.

Obtaining Tickets
Before the Falcons game I went to the Philips Arena box office to see if they had $10 tickets available. They did not, so I planned to buy a ticket for $10 or less on the secondary market. Before I approached any scalpers, I found a group of about 10 people and asked if they had an extra ticket. They did and gave me their extra ticket. With my ticket in hand, I went to check out the CNN Center.

CNN Center
The CNN Center was much better than I expected. The CNN Center is directly connected to the Philips Arena and has a large atrium food court. To my surprise, some of the food court restaurants were selling beer. I asked two Thrasher fans where they bought their beer and they directed me to Gorin’s Famous Sandwiches – which sold 32 ounce beers for $5. Around the corner from Gorin’s was Great Wraps which sold 44 ounce beers for $7. Since the CNN Center is connected to Philips Arena this is definitely the place to grab some cheap beer and food before the game rather than spend $7 for a 16 ounce beer in the arena.

NHL Arenas
With yesterday’s attendance at the Atlanta Thrashers game, I have now attended a hockey game at every National League Hockey arena. The first hockey game I attended was on September 28, 1991. The San Jose Sharks, playing in their inaugural season, hosted the New Jersey Devils in a pre-season game at the Cow Palace in Daly City, CA. The first regular season game I attended was a couple of months later when the San Jose Sharks hosted the Edmonton Oilers – also at the Cow Palace.

Since then I have attended 165 more NHL games for a total of 167 and attended games at 38 NHL arenas.

Philips Arena and the Game
Since I had sat in the upper deck at the Atlanta Hawks game a week prior, I decided to sit in the lower level this time around. The concession stands on the first level of Philips Arena resemble that of a food court mixed in with some Irish pubs.

The Boston Bruins defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 2-1 with the tie-breaking goal coming with 6:04 left in the 3rd period.

Post Game Dining
I took MARTA (Atlanta’s version of a subway) back to the W Hotel in Midtown. Nicole and I ate at Spice Market – the restaurant in the W Hotel. Spice Market’s food is inspired by the street life of Southeast Asia. After dinner we hung out in the W Hotel’s bar called the Living Room.