I have not found the right words to describe it yet.  Electric, and awesome don't even come close.  It was BY FAR, the best sporting event I have EVER been to!  I am a long time Clones fan and have never been in an atmosphere like the one last night. 

  We walked in.  We were there early (6:30).  Already, there were people in line to get in, from the doors, all the way back to GABP.  8 LINES!!  I could already feel the energy.  After a walk around, a few pictures of the trophies, and a restroom break, we made our way to our seats.  By this time the arena was more full than most games.  (No jokes please..lol)  I turned to my girlfriend and said, "I have goosebumps already.  Can you feel it?"  In our seats, we started talking to others and watched as the crowd grew bigger.  I did my usual "Heckling" of the visiting team during warm-ups, and took a few pictures. 

  The lights went out, the music Joe Stills played was blaring, and 12,722 people rose to their feet as the starting line-up was announced.  It seemed as loud as a Metallica concert.  The blood started to flow in me.  I was jumping, beating on the glass and screaming, as my favorite team took the ice.  I could feel it in the air.

  First period:  The chant of "LET'S GO CYCLONES!" filled the arena as the puck dropped.  Both teams came out flying.  Las Vegas seemed to have an early step on the puck, but our Clones seemed to be more interested in beating the hell out of their opponent.  Hit after hit rained down upon the Wranglers.  One Wrangler was even hit so hard, he didn't get up.  "CALL THE OBGYN, WE HAVE A GIRL ON THE ICE", I yelled.  Finally, after 15 minutes of play, league MVP, David Desharnais dropped a pass to J-M Daoust (Dah-ooo), who wristed a shot past Lalonde, upper left corner for a 1-0 lead.  The place went NUTS, for lack of better terms.  The two smallest guys on the team have been the two biggest contributers all year.  At the end of one period, Clones up, 1-0.

  Second Period:  Kinda boring for the first ten minutes for anyone who is not a big hockey fan.  The Clones played a defensive period.  Still, the hits rained down on Las Vegas.  Midway thru the period the Clones found themselves down two players (5 on 3) for 41 seconds.  The fans cheered loudly as time after time, the Clones cleared the puck out of their defensive zone.  Just after the first of the two players returned from the sin bin, another penalty on the Clones was called.  Another 5 on 3 situation.  This time, the Clones weren't so lucky to keep the 0 on the board.  A shot from the slot by Las Vegas' Cracknell hit off of Cyclone Ryan Russell and found the net behind Cedrick Desjardins.  At the end of 2 periods....1-1.

  Third Period:  With the Clones starting the period on the power play, and the sweat now seeping thru my t-shirt, pads and jersey, I felt this was a great opportunity for the Clones to go back on top.  Alas, a shot from the point bounces off Lalonde, and Matt Syrocinski (Cheeko), lunges for the loose puck and slaps a backhander into the net.  The place ERUPTED!  2-1 Cyclones.  Now, with the lead, the Cyclones produced more energy and kept the pressure on Las Vegas.  A few minutes later, Jon Gleed rifles a shot from the right point, thru traffic, and into the net for a 3-1 Cyclone lead.  With about 15 minutes left in the game, I knew it wasn't over, but had a feeling that the game was out of reach.  10 MINUTES LEFT!  Las Vegas seems out of gas.  The Cyclones are taking the puck from them and dumping it back into the Las Vegas zone killing time and keeping fresh legs on the ice.  5 MINUTES!  The chant of "WE WANT THE CUP!"  starts raining from the capacity crowd.  As each minute ticks away, the crowd grew louder, the chants more intense, high fives galore.  We're gonna do it!  I ran up and hugged my girlfriend who sits behind me cuz she's embarrased by my actions at the games.  I started crying.  Security personnel, who have hounded me for two years for pounding on the glass were hugging me and giving me high fives. FINAL MINUTE!!  The Clones bench was going NUTS!!  The crowd rose to it's feet and cheered louder than ever before.  I remember the noise meter at the Gardens.  This noise would have broken that meter.  As the clock hit zero, the bench cleared, and the boys celebrated.  The fans cheered, some cried.  I myself, cried like a baby and I don't care who thinks what of that.  I hugged my girlfriend and high fived her son.  WE DID IT!!  WE ARE CHAMPS!!  Pyrotechnics went off and streamers of red and yellow fell from the roof.  The cup was brought out from the opposite end of the arena.  DAMN!!  Cedrick Desjardins received the MVP trophy, turned around and motioned to the rest of the team that it was a total team effort. Next the Kelly Cup was presented to Chad Starling, Captain of the team.  He raised it, kissed it and passed it to Matt Macdonald who passed it on to the next and so on.  Finally, the boys skated around the whole arena one last time with the cup as a group.  As they passed me, many of them pounded on the pane of glass I have been beating on for two years now.  A thank you in some way from them to me.  Before leaving the ice with the cup, one last pass had to be made.  Wildman Walker hoisted something he has been dreaming of since 1990.  The biggest Cyclones supporter in this town FINALLY got what he deserved...a KELLY CUP DRINK!!! 

  This was definately the night of my life as far as sports go and something I will never forget.  See you on Saturday on Fountain Square!!!