Wake up, Megan. Lord Stanley is calling.

It’s Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and comme d’habitude I am in some random ass place where I can’t participate in the viewing like a normal person. The last time that I watched a hockey game of consequence like this was for the Olympic gold medal match. The Canadians won that battle- even though the game was pretty great to watch (en français, en plus), I have no desire this time to see the home team pick up shiny hardware on home ice.

1:35 AM. I wake up, in a Navy-esque watch relief-style panic (“Have I slept through my alarm?!”). Nope- I check the clock and sleep a bit more until my friend’s iPhone goes off just before two o’clock.

1:50: Alarm time- I get up and flip on the transformer that powers the American television. I find the Armed Forces Network (AFN) that is showing the pre-game, and I settle in with my stein of water (which earlier in the night held probably too much beer for my head’s liking at 2AM).

2:06: Tim Thomas is shown in the locker room putting on his sweater, and I’m missing my Dad and brother as I start my texting/email exchange conversation with them back on the Cape. This also marks the first AFN commercial that tells me how the military exchange system is my PCS (Permanent Change of Station) headquarters.  I’m they’ll show some of the quintessentially bad public service messages that insult my intelligence or relative sophistication level:

Yes Bruins, I love you enough to wake up in the middle of the night in a stranger’s house to be subjected to this crap. Hercules is such a dolt…

2:20: The puck is dropped, and for the first time in my life, we have Boston in a Game 7 Stanley Cup Final. Even though I’m 33 years old, I can’t believe I am seeing this happen so early in my  life.

2:33: The puck is zipping up and down both ends of the ice. Thomas has his work cut out for him.

2:42: Score Boston! Bergeron draws first blood, and I can do nothing but sit here quietly and smile. There are three small children sleeping very nearby, and I don’t want to be kicked out of the house in the first period for creating a nuisance. Besides, it is way too early to be thinking of celebrating anything.

2:43: Sick save by Thomas, but this game still seems pretty evenly distributed. The Bruins seem confident and certainly don’t look like they are on enemy ice. I just hope they don’t go on a power play and lose their momentum.

2:56: Are we really through the first period already? The good guys are being outshot by the bad guys, 8-5. I have no idea what the second period is going to look like, but it will probably feel like only a couple of minutes as well.

2:57: Text from my brother: 40 minutes.

2: 59: I recognize that I am a lousy real time blogger, and am too nervous busy to even try and attempt witty commentary. I just wanna watch some hockey.

3:02: “The Celtics, Red Sox, and Patriots- they’ve all won championships this century…”  Shut up commentator, are you really getting paid for this kind of in-depth analysis?

3:07: AFN’s “Around the Fleet” update on Navy operations. Some sailors are shown delivering charity supplies to a local community somewhere in the world. We call these “COMRELs” or community relations projects. Reminds me of the time we handed out Thighmasters and rollerblades to an underserved Thai village. Because nothing says peace and partnership like sports equipment provided to skinny-legged Asians who live on dirt roads….

3:15: Period two underway. I’ll likely talk to you at the end of this period. Between blogging, emailing my family and following the Bruins Twitter feed, I can only do so many things at once.

3:17: GAH, I hate when the puck hits the post! 

3:20 The puck makes its way back down to Thomas, he makes great glove save, followed by virtually sitting on the puck so it doesn’t go in the net. Both teams are playing in a pretty focused and measured way- even though we are being outshot again in this period.

3:22: No penalties in this game so far, which is weird but refreshing. Both teams must really wanna win this thing.

3:29: Thank you for blocking that shot, Chara.

3:31: Halfway through regulation. SOG: 14-8 Cancucks, but Tim Thomas and the Bs still seem far more calm.

3:34: Claude is being interviewed on the bench. He’s talking so fast he sounds like an over-caffeinated little kid.

3:35: SCORE Marchand!  I think even the linesman was excited about that one. Luongo could not get to the other side of the net- we need to keep rattling him. Now I’m starting to get wicked nervous.

3:37: Recchi the geriatric record setter almost scores again. My nerves are out the window.

3:41: First penalty of the night on Chara after Thomas makes another crazy save. Canucks go on PP.

3:46: Score Bergy shorthanded! I think….goal is under review, but it looks legit based from this biased hockey fan’s perspective.

3:48: It’s a goal, and all I can do is hop up and down on the floor here as I desperately want to scream and yell. This just goes to show that we should never go on a power play.

3:49: Sounds like the crowd has finally woken up in Vancouver and are chanting “Go Canucks Go”.

3:52: How can it possibly be the end of the second period? I swear that lasted for about three minutes. We’re still being outshot 13-8, but I’ll take whatever formula is working for us. With a three goal lead, my somewhat founded fears of a monumental 3rd period collapse are beginning to take hold.

3:53: Text from my brother: 20more minutes

3:58: I am informed by my goalie brother that Thomas has the post season record for saves with 782. Even my sports-hating firefighter paramedic sister is watching the game as she astutely asks if Tim can put his legs behind his head.

4:01: Since it’s just me here in Germany, awake at 4am and rooting for my team, I communicate with FacebookLand that I am a bit of a mess. My buddy observes that I’m “not as big of a mess as Roberto Luongo. He looks like he just found out they outlawed hair mousse”. Totally.

4:11: Puck goes down. Third period underway.

4:12: Rogers Arena attendees sounds like they are guests at a non-Irish wake.

4:16: The last time I felt this stressed, it was Game 7 in 2001. At that time I also watched the game by myself in the wardroom of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, as the command duty officer was sound asleep on the couch. I had to be quiet then too.

4:18: Uh oh. Bruins are going on the PP.

4:20: The birds have woken up here in Germany.

4:25: From the Twitter feed: I’M CALLING IN DRUNK TOMORROW. NOT HUNGOVER, DRUNK. #Bruins


4:29: The crowd is awake again and actually out of their seats. As my sister notes, Canal Street is probably ready to burst in contrast.


4:31: Hooking call on Lucic.


4:33: Vancouver doesn’t have much control on this PP. They’ve been skating on their heels for most, if not all of this period.  Thomas has really been an unflappable force in shutting down every shot they’ve put to him so far. 


4:34: I’m starting to wonder if this is Dream Megan, and my alarm is going to wake me up for the “real 1:50am” and I have to watch a completely different hockey game, with a very different ending. 


4:37: Child upstairs is saying something. I swear I didn’t wake her up.


4:37: Commentator: “Meaningful silence here”. Uh, okay.


4:40: I think Luongo will be departing the pattern here shortly.

4:41: ENG. This is crazy.  Images of Orr are being flashed on the screen.

4:45: Wow. The Cup is coming back to Boston. Wow.

4:45: Text from my brother: Our neighbor just fired their cannon!

4:47: Canucks applaud their fans.

4:51: As if there was ever any doubt, Tim Thomas lifts the Conn Smythe trophy. 

4:53: The Cup is on the ice. Shut up Gary Bettman and hand it over!

4:53: Chara towers over Bettman, and holds the Cup like it’s miniature beer trophy….

5:02: And this whole time I’ve been watching some quality cup hoisting….

9:10:  After my hosts and their children wake up to start their day at around 6am, I am moved from the couch to go and catch a couple of Z’s in the three year old’s bed. I sleep till about nine, and wake up wondering where the heck I am. Then I remember: “Germany. Stanley Cup. Party in Beantown.” It feels as good as you feel when you wake up and realize it’s a snow day.

I don’t have much else to say with this posting. I will leave the pontificating to the writers and commentators over the next couple of days, but on behalf of the Hallinan family I will say that we are satisfied hockey customers. I’d also like to thank my exceedingly gracious hosts for allowing this random girl into their living room in the middle of the night to make use of their television and couch. I know that they are a fellow military members, and I can certainly say that they know better than anyone else what it means to really Support the Hockey Nuts Troops.


Live it up, Boston- we’ve earned it. Only 110 days to go until the hockey season starts again.