Fedun Scores

TigerBlog is trying to remember how many NHL games he's been to in his life.

He remembers going to an Edmonton Oilers-Philadelphia Flyers game at the Spectrum in 1980 or so, back when Wayne Gretzky was just breaking into the league after having played in the World Hockey Association, which didn't quite make it.

TB was there with two of his friends, and they found their seats and watched the first period. Then the people whose seats they really were came, pushing TB and his friends up to the third level of the building, whcih TB didn't even realize existed at the time.

He went to a Red Wings-Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. He saw the Sabres and Capitals at the Capital Center, the arena in Landover, Md., where Washington played before the Verizon Center was built. He's also gone to two games at the Verizon Center, courtesy of Kurt Kehl, who used to work in the OAC and is now a big-shot in the Caps organization.

Oh, and there was a Sabres-Islanders game at the Nassau Coliseum. That was also a long time ago.

And that's it, TB believes.

TB doesn't go to too many professional sporting events these days. He has his hands full with the college variety.

In his lifetime he's gone to way more Major League Baseball games than anything else, in part because of his two summers as a vendor at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. He went to a lot of games in his life at Shea Stadium, and some at the old Yankee Stadium.

He's been to a few NFL games, either at Giants Stadium or the Vet, and a bunch of NBA basketball, also at the Spectrum, MSG or the Meadowlands.

In other words, most of his professional sports attendance experience is at stadiums and arenas that no longer exist.

That's sort of sad, no?

Actually, TB doesn't even really watch too much professional sports on TV. He hasn't even seen much of the NFL this fall.

He definitely wasn't watching the Florida Panthers host the Edmonton Oilers last night, not on TV or computer or anything. And so he missed the first NHL goal by Princeton alum Taylor Fedun, who scored in his first NHL game.

TB did seek out the highlight this morning, and he found it on NHL.com.

Fedun seems sort of happy after the goal, what with a wide ear-to-ear smile.

The Oilers won the game 4-3, on Marc Arcobello's overtime goal. It was Arcobello's second goal of the game - and of his career as well.

And where did he go to college? Yale.

In other words, Edmonton won a game last night in which three of its four goals were scored by two players who had never scored a goal in the NHL before. And they were both Ivy League grads.

Has to be something of a first, TB would guess.

As for the two schools, they play each other Friday night in Princeton's home opener. It'll actually be the second meeting of the year between Princeton and Yale, after the teams met in a non-conference game at the Liberty Hockey Invitational at the Prudential Center - another arena TB has never been to - two weeks ago. Yale won that one 3-2.

Princeton has played four games and is 1-3, and all four games have been decided by either one or two goals. Princeton also hosts Brown Saturday night.

Yale, of course, won the NCAA championship in men's hockey last year. The Bulldogs and Tigers met three times, and though Yale won all three, there were two one-goal games and a two-goal game.

TigerBlog has said on many occasions that Baker Rink is a great place to see a game and could very well be the best gameday venue at Princeton.

It's even better when a rival like Yale is in town.

As for Fedun and Arcobello, TB can't imagine they won't have some sort of friendly wager on the game.

And they'll always have the bond from last night, when the two Ivy Leaguers got their first career goals in the same game.

Good for both of them.