Well, about 2 weeks ago I got my plane tickets home for Christmas break.  It's the only time I go home each year and it usually turns out to be the best couple of weeks I have each year.  There has been one constant every year I've lived out here that will not exist in all likelyhood this year: hockey.

Each year since I have lived in LA, the Caps have had a home game a few days before Christmas.  Each year I get tickets for myself and 3 of my closest friends from college.  With the exception of the first year I went home (before I was on these boards) I go to F-Street before each game and say hi to the webbies.  Then watch the game (the Caps have won every time I've gone) then go to Fados afterward before heading home.  It is usually a night I talk about for months afterward, but it won't exist this year.  Had the season gone as planned I would have had a two-fer...  Caps vs. Blues on Dec 22, then Jan 1st they played at home, then the next day on my birthday I have a ticket for the Redskins. 

Now I have to come up with something new to do.  It doesn't sound like a huge deal, and really in the grand scheme of things it isn't, but damn if that night isn't special to me.  Life is about creating memories and I have so many memories from those 4 nights.  I'm sure I'll find something else we can all do, but it's not the same without hockey.

It's not exactly Caps hockey, but if it is sort of the hockey in general, don't forget about the Phantoms, Bears, Riverdogs, and Admirals!