What a surreal day for everyone involved in and around the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Mellon Arena hosts it’s final regular season home game this evening. I realize that there will still be some playoff hockey played in the old barn, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this will be one of the final moments to relish the personality of the place.
I get it…the new building was a necessity. Mellon Arena just didn’t provide the same opportunities anymore; but that doesn’t mean I won’t miss the place. Growing up here in town, it is all I have ever known.
I enjoyed countless moments with family, friends and loved ones there.
I saw the circus there.
I saw Sesame Street Live there.
I saw Mick Foley choke slammed off the top of a steel cage there.
I saw multiple concerts there including an amazing performance by U2 back in 2000 that capped a day in which I ate lunch at and toured Graceland, before making it home in time to see Bono and boys.
I also got to see Metallica on the “Black” tour back in 1991 at the Igloo. I found a way to parlay my section E stinkers into floor seats. The show was in the round and I was on the great Jason Newsted’s side of the stage. I worked my way up to the barrier and Newsted handed me a draft beer, which was the highlight of my then 16 years on earth.
And yes, I saw my first hockey game and hundreds more there over the years.
If Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were/are artists on the ice; Mellon Arena was their canvas. They used the sheet in that building to create the moments that most of us will never forget.
I will be taking some time over the next few weeks, possibly even after the playoffs end to share some of my personal Mellon memories… but until then, here is today’s edition of around the net.
Shelly Anderson gives us this great piece about Mellon Arena… as she says, we will have no idea when the official last game in the building will take place, unless there is a Cup being raised, so tonight will be special. There are some thoughts and comments about the building from current Penguins…including a retelling of the old “mouse in the shoe” bit!
Mellon Arena was a special one!
Sticking with Shelly for a notebook… three players missed practice yesterday (Malkin, Gonchar and Kunitz), Staal will play in his 300th consecutive game tonight, Crosby gives everyone a scare, Fleury starts to tonight…
Joe Starkey shares some stories of his youth and talks about how he got “old” at Mellon Arena…
Here is a nice piece by Rob Rossi in which he catches up with “voice of the Penguins” Mike Lange. The two break down some of the unbelievable moments that Mario Lemieux gave us in the Igloo. He also tosses twelve other names that made the place special into the ring.
I have to stick with the Tribune Review… Kevin Gorman caught up with some Penguins greats who will be a part of the ceremony this evening… they share their memories of Mellon Arena…
Here is something I grabbed from the Trib…
Top 10 games at Mellon Arena
Nov. 22, 1972 — The Penguins set an NHL record for fastest five goals when five players scored in a span of 2:07 in the third period, in which they scored a record seven goals. They beat St. Louis, 10-4.
April 26, 1975 — Ed Westfall’s backhander beat Gary Inness with 5:18 left, and the Penguins became the second team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 series lead when they lost Game 7, 1-0, to the New York Islanders in the quarterfinals.
March 24, 1976 — Two Penguins’ fan favorites achieved club firsts in the same game, as Jean Pronovost scored his 50th goal and Pierre Larouche his 100th point in a 5-5 tie with the Boston Bruins.
Jan. 19, 1980 — In Wayne Gretzky’s first visit, the Penguins (144) and Edmonton (123) set arena records for most penalty minutes in a game, and D Russ Anderson set a team record with 51 PIM. The Oilers won, 5-2.
Nov. 27, 1991 — The Penguins commemorated the death of coach “Badger” Bob Johnson, who led them to their first Stanley Cup championship, with a candlelight ceremony before a game against New Jersey at Mellon Arena.
May 9, 1992 — Ron Francis scored an overtime goal to beat the New York Rangers, 5-4, in Game 4 to even the Patrick Division Final and start an 11-game win streak that would lead to the Penguins’ second Cup title.
May 26, 1992 — The Penguins trailed, 4-1, before Rick Tocchet and Mario Lemieux scored in a span of 59 seconds, Jaromir Jagr tied it with what Lemieux called “the greatest goal I’ve ever seen,” and Lemieux won the game with 12.6 seconds left for a 5-4 victory over Chicago in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
May 2, 1999 — Sidelined by a groin injury, Jaromir Jagr returned to score the game-tying goal in the third period and the winner 8:59 into overtime for a 3-2 victory over New Jersey in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
May 4, 2000 — Philadelphia’s Keith Primeau scored at 12:01 of the fifth overtime for a 2-1 victory over the Penguins – goalie Ron Tugnutt stopped 70 shots – in Game 4 to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2.
June 4, 2009 — Trailing defending champion Detroit, 2-1, in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, Jordan Staal tied the score on a shorthanded goal at 8:35 of the second, and Sidney Crosby and Tyler Kennedy scored for a 4-2 victory that turned the series and helped the Penguins win their third Cup championship.
Love birds
Five Penguins who were cult heroes at the Igloo:
Bryan Watson — “Bugsy” the first
Bob Kelly — You couldn’t sink this “Battleship”
Ulf Samuelsson — Jack Lambert on skates
Darius Kasparaitis — Ironically, a Game 7 OT goal was his greatest hit
Gary Roberts — What he would do is bring the pain
Boo birds
Five opposing players who weren’t welcomed at the Igloo:
Barclay Plager — “Bar-clay!” “Bar-clay!”
Bobby Clarke — The Commonwealth Cold Sore
Wayne Gretzky — Great? Sure. Super? Hardly.
Dale Hunter — A Capital offender
Marian Hossa — See my Marian walking away …
Here is an outsiders view of the arena’s final game… this comes from the Detroit Free Press. The juicy tidbit contained within? That there are tentative plans to open the roof for one more event after the hockey season ends. I wasn’t aware of that…consider me excited about that news!
Free Press takes a look at the Igloo
The Senators aren’t dwelling on the fact that they just might be meeting the Penguins for the third time in four years in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The teams have split their past two series… they have also split their four games during this season…
Robert Morris hockey/athletic brass will be taking in the Frozen Four… they along with VisitPittsburgh have submitted a bid to host the event in the future…
Robert Morris takes in Frozen Four
Keith Tkachuk retires after 18 season in the dance…
Carolina gets the All-Star Game…the event could bring millions into the area. The market has spent years trying to secure something like this. The get is viewed as a huge success…
The Edmonton Oilers official site brings us the NHL Draft Lottery simulator! This is great… perfect for the mock drafter in you. Maybe you just want to see if your team has a chance at the top pick? My simulation gave the first pick in the 2010 NHL Draft to the Boston Bruins… the Toronto media’s collective heads just exploded.
Now that they are eliminated from playoff contention, the Atlanta Thrashers have made a couple of personnel moves… one was sending uber grey beard, Chris Chelios back to Chicago of the AHL.
Sad news… Pat Burns has been hospitalized and has seemingly come to terms with the fact that he may not have much time. Hang in there Pat…
The Flyers’ Jeff Carter has been cleared to resume skating… great news for the Fly Guys who are embroiled in a battle for the final playoff spots…
More later…
The U2 show in question was actually in 2001…
Saw KISS there a lot of ties!! Too Many to Want to count !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2pT4NNP8_s&feature=player_embedded
The Slow Goodye to Mellon Arena Begins !!
That video is awesome! I was watching it earlier… planning on posting it in a few!
I have seen so much at the Arena… hard to believe that it is going to be gone!
The video is also a bit of a tear jerker… I am a sucker for stuff like that. Those memories come flooding back and it just sweeps over you! Can’t help but mist up…
Any chance they would play that on the jumbotron tonight? NOW THAT WOULD BE COOL!!
Yeah me too Metz !! That’s why I posted it !! It Had me getting something in my Eye !! : )
Were you guys cutting onions again???
I doubt that one will be up there, since it is fan made and they don’t usually do things like that. I am sure there will be plenty to get us misty though! They have been planning it for so long!
Great vid, thanks for posting that Evil.
Hanging on the wall above me desk is a signed program and ticket from the first game I went too at the Civic Arena, March 19, 1994, Pens vs Canucks.
A friend of my mom’s took us down to the locker room area where I got to meet Ulf (he was on the program and signed it for me), Rick Tocchet, and Tom Barrasso. If I had been paying better attention I would have gotten to meet Mario (who didn’t play that night) but I didn’t pay much attention to the guy in street clothes walking by….. I realized who it was when he was about 30 feet past me and wasn’t going to chase him down like a school girl in love… 😉