Adventures in Journalism

Image from John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Last night I had the opportunity to cover the Bruins/Islanders rookie game at the TD Garden in Boston.  It was great experience.  I had full press credentials for the game.  After I arrived at the rink and got my press badge, I got to hang out the media room with all the Bruins' beat writers and TV guys.  Jack Edwards ate a sandwich at the table next to me.

Sitting in press row was great.  I never realized just how big the press section was until I got there.  Since it was a rookie game, most of the press area was not filled up.  There were assigned seats for the regular media.  I was told I could sit anywhere there wasn't a yellow name tag.  The game wasn't being broadcast on NESN or any other television channel so I was allowed to film the game. 

The game itself was actually pretty entertaining.  I was surprised at how many fights occurred.  There were about 5-6 solid throw downs.  This was Tyler Seguin's first game in a Bruins' jersey.  I never had a chance to see him play with the Whalers, but he was solid on the ice.  He's going to have a great chance to succeed in Boston.  Plus, he wears #19 in honor of his favorite player, Steve Yzerman.  Other than Seguin, I thought Max Sauve was impressive. He had a goal, but overall, when he was on the ice you took notice.  Jordan Caron was easily the player of the game.  He recorded his first ever hat trick.  On the Islanders side, 2010 first round pick Nino Niederreirter was all over the ice in a good way and really stood out the most for New York.  The Bruins won the game 5-2.

After the game ended, I headed down to the locker room for some interviews.  There was immediately a crowd around Seguin, so we jammed into the crowd with our camera and mic for some sound bytes.  Seguin was very calm and laid back.  He was very relaxed and it felt like he'd gladly just hang out with the media and talk to them if they wanted to.  Next up was Caron.  I got a really good shot of him with his nameplate in the background and the WEBN mic right in front.  He was thrilled about his hat trick and said that even though it was a rookie game and didn't officially count, it was still a very big moment for him.  The press then left the locker room and headed back to the media room for a press conference with Providence Bruins' head coach Rob Murray and Boston Bruin' GM Peter Chiarelli.  After the post-game presser, we recorded our stand-ups for our package down on ice level by the Zamboni doors.

Overall it was an awesome experience.  It was great to learn exactly what goes on and how it works behind the scenes.  Everyone who worked for the Bruins was extremely nice and helpful with any and every question we asked.  When I finish my reporter package I will post it here to on the blog.  Hopefully, all will go well and the Bruins will allow us to come back during the season on a regular basis. 


These are some still shots of the game I took last night.