So successful are the Chicago Blackhawks that they will sell their fans everything and anything they can. All the games sell out, as does the annual summertime Fan Convention. Three years ago, the team started holding an annual Training Camp Festival, which includes a 5K run and dealers selling hockey memorabilia, and culminates in a scrimmage. The Fest, at $5 a ticket, sells out too. Blackhawks fans will pay to see the team practice!
This year’s scrimmage was pretty epic. The last time I went to a Training Camp Fest — in 2010 — the team had the players work on drills, then play three casual scrimmages, where players skated on more than one team throughout the day. But this year, the team went super-oldschool, and played what fans have called “The Red-White Game.”
(FYI, my first “Red-White Game” was way back in 1990. Read about it here.)
The players weren’t wearing practice jerseys; they were decked out in full Blackhawks uniforms, with one team wearing the red home jerseys and the other team wearing white road jerseys. Where else but in a video game can you see two full teams of Blackhawks going at it?
To those who didn’t make it to Monday night’s fest, here are some of the highlights you missed. Continue reading “What you missed at the 2013 Blackhawks Training Camp Festival”