lupestripe | Dinamo Moskva 3-0 AK Bars

Last night (Monday) I went to my first ever ice hockey match - the KHL match up between Dinamo Moskva and AK Bars.

The KHL is pretty much the biggest ice hockey league in the world after the NHL and consists of teams from five countries. The majority are from Russia, and western Russia at that.

Nexion met us after work at the nearest Metro, walking us down to the stadium to get tickets. He couldn't go himself but Serie sat with us during the game, no mean feat considering he confessed he doesn't like sport. But he is a sweet guy and I think enjoyed it overall.

We were patted down and then went through a metal detector security screen akin to what you get at an airport. All bags had to be thoroughly searched too.

Upon entering, we walked up the concrete spiral up to the top row, where our seats were. Typically, once inside, we also had to walk halfway round the stadium to get to our seats. The game was already 10 minutes into the first third by then but at 0-0 we hadn't missed much.

The stadium was about half full but this didn't dent the atmosphere, which was pulsating, particularly due to the chanting from the two sets of rival supporters behind each goal. There were many songs to be sung and Dinamo had bastardised many popular hits to the sound of their own name.

As we were in the Dinamo end I wanted them to win but I liked the friendly AK Bars snow panther. Sadly there were no mascots in sight.

Although the action was full blooded and the gams full of frenetic and calculated play, a break every minute or so did become annoying. There were a few moments of fisticuffs when proceedings became heated but aside from that, it was a good natured affair.

No drink or food being allowed in the stands meant people vacated at the two 15-minute intervals (there were three thirds of 20 minutes each) to grab refreshments. We sat in the stands and watched two blimps fly around the arena. They were being controlled by two guys near to us.

The amount of advertising at the event was quite high - it occurred throughout the intervals although the montage to 65 years of Dinamo was fascinating due to the sheer volume of footage from Soviet times.

Dinamo scored three goals in the end, two in the second and one in the third thirds. When they scored, some bizarre bell toll happened, it's hard to explain and really quite surreal. The reaction was very much like football though, with cheering and flag waving.

After the game we all exited the same way and headed to the Metro. Due to the sheer numbers (around 15000) we stopped off on Subway before heading home. It was a great experience seeing a hockey game (particularly for a paltry 150 roubles - about £3) and one I hope to repeat soon ^^

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