Last weekend the NHL started its regular season schedule.  The New York Islanders swept a home-and-home series from the Buffalo Sabres to open the season, and then had a special afternoon game on Columbus Day against the Washington Capitals.  This game was billed as the "Kids Home Opener," and featured plenty of entertainment for young Islanders fans.

Upon arriving at the Nassau Coliseum, we saw a number of inflatable bouncy houses and slides, with long lines of kids waiting for their chance to have a little pre-game fun.  There were also a number of mascots from teams around the league interacting with the kids and posing for pictures.

Several times during the course of the season the Islanders offer what is called a family fun pack.  This pack includes 4 of everything (tickets, sodas, hot dogs and hats).  In addition, the giveaway item at this game (a replica Rick DiPietro jersey) was given out to every kid as they entered the arena.  Value is not something that is usually mentioned in the same sentence as any major sporting event, but this package gave a lot of value.  The total cost for the fun pack was only $125.  This isn't necessarily cheap, but when you factor in the souvenirs and food, it was about as good as it gets if you want to see a live hockey game.

Before the game started, a number of youth hockey players skated onto the ice in a straight line holding a long piece of material.  As they split up and went to either side of the rink (while holding the material) an enormous American flag was unfurled.  The National Anthem was sung by a youth choir, as the gigantic American flag hovered above the ice. 

Upon the completion of the National Anthem, the flag was returned to its folded position and the starting lineups were announced by a young Islanders fan. 

The first period was mostly a defensive struggle, as neither team was getting good looks at the net.  The Islanders did, however,  jump out to a 1-0 lead and took that lead into the beginning of the second period. 

During the intermission, the mascots played their version of a hockey game.  While you have to give them credit for being able to skate in those costumes, the game really was meant to entertain the little ones in the crowd, not the adults.

The Capitals tied up the game in the 2^nd period and the teams headed into the 3^rd period tied 1-1.  Unfortunately, the Capitals would score the only goal of the 3^rd period, defeating the Islanders 2-1.  It was definitely a case of quality over quantity, because the Capitals only got off 12 shots the entire game, to the Islanders 31 shots. 

While the outcome of the game was disappointing, the chance to go see a live hockey game is always great.  My son and I went to the game with another kid from his football team, and the boy's father.  The boys had great time during the course of the game, often being the ones to start the chant "LET'S GO ISLANDERS!"  This was the first time that my son had the opportunity to attend a game with a friend, as it's usually just the two of us.  It just made it that much more fun for him.

There will be more of these family fun packs announced as the season goes on.  If you're interested in keeping track of these opportunities, please click here.