For the first time since 1995, the Blackhawks hosted a Western Conference Finals game (that series also happened to be against the Detroit Red Wings).

Obtaining Tickets
I had planned to meet up with Blackhawks Jim at the game since he already had a ticket in his regular seats. However, since his wife and daughter and the Ultimate Sports Wife also wanted to attend, I needed to buy four tickets. I considered buying Standing Room Only tickets, but with four people it is next to impossible to find four seats together. We would most likely have to split up 2 and 2. And with the Ultimate Sports Wife preferring to sit (rather than sitting and getting kicked out) it made sense to buy seats for Friday night’s game.

I checked out my regular websites for tickets during the day on Friday – craigslist.org, StubHub and eBay. At 10 am I told Blackhawks Jim it would probably cost around $150 per ticket. I considered waiting until we arrived at the United Center, but again, with four people I was unsure what tickets would be available outside the arena. At 2 pm, I bought tickets off eBay for $140 each (plus $10 for processing) – face value for the tickets was $65 plus Ticketmaster fees.

Pre Game
The original plan was to meet Blackhawks Jim, his wife, daughter and the Ultimate Sports Wife at The Beer Bistro – our usual meeting place. However, traffic on a Friday afternoon from Wilmette to Chicago is normally bad so they never made it. The Beer Bistro has a beer of the month special for $4. This month’s beer was Okocim.

Buying Tickets Note: If I had known I would be at the United Center by 5 pm and that Blackhawks Jim would not be able to show up for dinner I would not have bought tickets from eBay. With two hours to wander around the United Center I would have found a better deal on tickets. In fact, I talked to “Broker Ben” outside of Billy Goat Tavern (the main scalper hang out) and he said seats in the third level of the United Center were selling for around $125 each on the street.

The Game
The Blackhawks lost a 3-0 lead as the Red Wings scored three unanswered second period goals within 4 minutes and 23 seconds. The Red Wings set an NHL record by giving up a power play goal in their 12th consecutive playoff game.

As was the case with Game 2, Game 3 also went to overtime – the fourth overtime game I have attended (and the Blackhawks have played) this post season. Once again, when the Blackhawks are home they score quickly into overtime – Patrick Sharp scored the game-winning goal 1:52 into overtime.

Post Game Dining
Since we missed dinner before the game we needed to eat after the game. We headed to our new usual place – CrossRoads Bar & Grill. I recommend the Thanksgiving Turkey sandwich.