Back in time: Eurolanche Invasion III
Peter Helik from Slovakia wrote a summary of the Eurolanche Invasion III. It was his first (and for now) his last participation at the known events.I have been a hockey fan since my childhood, and a long time Colorado Avalanche fan - when I heard about the first European Avs Fan Club Eurolanche, I didn´t hesitate to join the group. When I found out that David Puchovsky organized trips to Colorado called ‘Eurolanche Invasion I and II’, I wanted to fulfill my dream. It all started at the end of January 2010, when in total five fans had decided to travel to Denver. I had never been to the USA before, which was something I’ve been looking forward to doing as a child.
The Author of this story is Peter Helik who is pictured on the right of this photo.
I traveled to the USA alone, which was a remarkable and interesting experience. I flew in from Chicago from Frankfurt, Germany via Vienna, Austria. David and other member from Austria were waiting on me at the Denver airport. Eurolanche Invasion III would finally start. When we took the bus and checked in at the local hotel, I still couldn´t believe, that I was in Denver. I was shaking from excitement when we visited the first game the next day between the Avs and New York Rangers. I entered the beautiful arena, saw a big colossus, and my favorite team stepped on the ice. I lost words and couldn´t close my mouth due the astonishment. The first game will always stay in your memory forever. Avalanche lost 1-3, but the Slovakian player Marian Gaborik scored a hat trick.
We members received not only complimentary tickets, but also VIP tickets for the meetings with players thanks to the Eurolanche. We also got to meet the opponent players. I got the chance to take photos with all of the Avalanche players, and they signed my #9 Matt Duchene jersey. It was an unbelievable time for me to talk to them, and I got to take some photo’s.
Besides the NHL we also visited lacrosse games at Pepsi Center - which is also a very interesting sport that we all like too. The third sporting event held in Pepsi Center is the famous NBA that we also couldn´t miss. In total, we spent almost every day of our 16-day Invasion at Pepsi Center. Additionally, we visited the Avalanche practice facility, and another rink where Joe Sakic coached small kids. We were able to talk to him, get signatures, and take photos with him. I still get goose bumps when I remember upon the meeting with this legend of world hockey.
We met new people in Denver, started new friendships, visited new places, and got the opportunity to fulfill dreams during this short time. The Colorado Avalanche won five out of their six games that we were able to watch live, which just underlined our already great feelings. It was a great two weeks and I am looking forward to when I will be able to do the same again sometime in the future.
Do not miss:
- Diaries of members
- Photo gallery
- All important information about the Eurolanche Invasion project may be found at invasion.eurolanche.com
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
10/01/2023 - 16:00
