PHOTO CREDIT: Barry Chin, Boston Globe

Trifectas are really fun.

Reverse trifectas, not so much.

Thanks to a friend (thanks Rick!), I was able to go to the Bruins game last night. There are few things in sports like a Game 7. Game 7 is the culmination of a hard-fought seven game series. It is every sports cliché all wrapped into one game. One game to decide a season’s worth of blood, sweat, and tears.

The game was amazing. It was the best hockey game I have ever been to – even before it went to overtime. It had everything. It was pulse-pounding, gut wrenching and near heart attack inducing. Hell, I was nervous during the break before overtime. The Garden was jumping and the energy in there was electric. It was an adrenaline-filled surge up until Carolina scored their game-winning goal in overtime.

Then, the place became quiet.

It was a deathly quiet, an eerie quiet. It was so quiet that I could hear the screams of jubilation from the Carolina players down on the ice – all the way up from the second to last row in the balcony. Think about that. 17,000+ people. Silent.

After about 5-10 seconds of that stunned silence, the crowd began to cheer. It was an appreciative cheer for the effort the Bruins had given all season. It was the final curtain call for the 2008-2009 Bruins.  It went on while the Bruins gathered at their bench and watched the Hurricanes celebrate on their home ice.

One of the great things about hockey is at the end of each playoff series both teams line up at the center of the ice and shake hands. I wish they did this in every sport. As I watched the Bruins and Hurricanes exchange pleasantries, I scanned the crowd around me. It was like a funeral in there. Some people slumped down in their seat, others muttered (“What an awful, awful feeling” – I heard someone say), a guy slammed his fist into his chair and faces of dejection surrounded me.

As goaltender Tim Thomas skated away from the handshake line, towards the exit, he raised his mask and waved to the crowd. The crowd cheered again. Without Thomas, the game would have been a Carolina rout.

I feel awful. Not so much for the season ending, but for the (few) true Bruins diehards I know.  I am a Boston sports fan.  I’ve been one since I knew how to root for a team.  To me however, the Bruins always took a back seat to the Sox, Pats, and Celtics.  Even though the first ticket to a sporting event I ever bought was to a Bruins playoff game in 1990, I did feel like an outsider rooting for them at times.  There isn’t enough time in the week to passionately follow all four teams at once.

The diehards are the guys lived and died with this team. One of my diehard buddies brought a television to the AFC Championship game tailgate so he could watch the Bruins game. Another drove back to Montreal after watching Game 5 of this series so he could be back for morning classes the next day. This is a 4.5 hour drive! I felt so awful for those guys that I sent them texts apologizing for the loss. I had nothing to do with it, but I figured it was the least I could do for them.

I have to hand it to the Bruins. They had a very good season. They had the best record in the East, swept the dreaded Canadiens and were a goal away from advancing to the conference finals. Their most impressive accomplishment was that for three weeks, they stole the Boston sports spotlight. It was the 70’s all over again.  They were the top sports story in the greatest sports city in the world, and they earned it. I even got caught up in it. I am not ashamed to admit that I watched the Bruins more than the Celtics over the past few weeks.

Riding down the escalator of the Garden to leave, I saw an older gentleman next to another man. They didn’t look alike, but must have been season ticket partner friends or something. The older gentleman let out a deep sigh and with a stern look on his face, turned to his companion and said:

“Well, I guess I will see you at game one next season.”

You sure will, good sir.

The Bruins will be back.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Make the most of every day.