Royalty Tours USA

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Royalty races back to Fort Wayne, Indiana to see some ECHL hockey to close out 2012!

Prince at Allen  County War Memorial Coliseum
Domish and I left the Pacer game in downtown Indianapolis with 1:04 left in the game with the Pacers ahead, 82-79. We then raced the clock to get back to Fort Wayne which was 130 miles away to see a minor league hockey game. Domish was kind enough to join me for the basketball game even though he's not a big fan of the sport. Since the King couldn't make the trip, he decided to keep me company.

We got into the car at 5:40PM and off we went. We had to dodge some light snow, wet pavements and some local traffic lights until we finally got to I-69 which goes right to Fort Wayne. When I finally got on the interstate, I was able to make up some time we lost trying to get there. For the most part, the speed limit was 70 so I was able to take advantage and go faster in stretches where conditions allowed me to do so. I knew getting to the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum which is the home of the Fort Wayne Komets was going to be difficult given the time constraints. I did the very best I could to get there as fast as I could. We had to drive a few miles from I-69 to get to the arena. That didn't help the cause either. In addition, paying to park was our only option. It was only $4 so it wasn't too terrible to do so even if it was only minor league. I wound up parking the car in the parking lot at 7:38PM. I told Domish to go ahead and I'll meet him inside. I gathered my belongings and walked over to the arena.

When I was going up the escalator to the 600 level yes you read that right, I heard the roar of the crowd as a goal was scored. I saw it on a TV monitor as I was making my way up to the top of the building. The game was tied at one with 13:39 to go in the first period between the hometown Komets and the visiting Toledo Walleye.

After getting my myself together after a stressful drive, I relaxed and watched the rest of the game. My body was so sore. It should be noted this was my 344th and final sporting event of the 2012 calendar year.
As for the rest of the game we saw, it turned out to be a wild high scoring affair. Shortly after I sat down the puck was in the net again as the Walleye scored to regain the lead 2-1 with 13:05 left in the first period. With 9:21 to go in the period, the Komets evened the score again at two. That's how the period ended.

In the second period, the visiting Walleye scored three unanswered goals to take a 5-2 lead during a 4:45 stretch in the middle of the period. The Komets got one back late with 2:17 left to make it 5-3 after two periods.

In the third period, the Walleye scored to make it 6-3 with 11:08 to go. The Komets scored 59 seconds later to make it 6-4. After that, the Walleye added three more unanswered goals to put the game away as they left Fort Wayne with a 9-4 victory to close out 2012 on a high note.

As for the crowd there were 10,103 on hand. We could tell people in Fort Wayne really love their hockey and it showed throughout the night as they were into the game. It should be noted that when the Komets scored a goal, the fans reacted by saying and I quote "he shoots, he scores." That was a nice touch.
After the game, Domish and I were hungry so we stopped off at Steak N Shake for a late dinner before we got back on the highway. I enjoyed a double steakburger and a shake while he had chili and a shake. It was Domish's first time there. He was impressed with my suggestion. I'm glad he enjoyed his meal.

After we ate, we wound up going shopping at Walmart which was in the shopping center next door. Domish wanted to bring home some Skyline Chili he said so we went in and he got some. I got to bring some goodies as well so it was a very worth while way to end the 2012 calendar year.

We drove to Mansfield, Ohio where spent the night at Super 8. We were near the Indiana/Ohio as we brought in 2013 driving through on US 30 which was a nice deserted road which made for an easy drive for me.

Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do that will recap how we started 2013.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman












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