Sports in Paris (Part 2 of 3)

Our series on sports in Paris continues.  

Both of us enjoy ice hockey, hockey sur glace in French.  Jean-Claude grew up with hockey in the Midwest and Marie-Chantal, who loves most competitive team sports, came to enjoy the high-speed action of hockey as an adult.  

We especially enjoyed Year 3 in Washington, D.C., when the Washington Capitals won the 2018 Stanley Cup.  

When we arrived for Year 4 in Paris, it was the middle of winter.  So, we naturally looked for a hockey game and found one.  

Les Francais Volants ("The Flying Frenchman") is a minor league team here in France.  The team, founded in 1933, plays at the AccorHotels Arena in the 13th arrondissement.  Actually, the team plays under the arena.  The ice rink, known as the Sonia-Henie rink, is a small venue underneath the arena.  It holds about 350 fans.    

The game we attended was only about half full but the fans were lively and loud.  Seating was open and we found seats mid-ice in the second row.  We haven't been that close to the action in a long time.  

We arrived shortly before what we thought was game time, 6:30 p.m.  It turns out the game actually started a half hour later.  We are still mystified by what the start time on the ticket means.

Before the puck dropped, we were treated to a dance show on ice.  A troupe of skaters danced with music and lights, which made for a festive, if not unusual, start to the game.

The game itself was great fun to watch.  The quality of play was a bit below the NHL.  Still, ice hockey is an action-packed game at any level.  So, we enjoyed it.  

One thing happened that we had never seen before.  A player lofted the puck and it ended up going inside another player's sweater.  It dropped down and out the bottom.  Play continued, of course.  

By the way, do you know what the French call the machine that resurfaces the ice between periods?  A Zamboni, naturally, but with a French accent.  

A happy Marie-Chantal at her first hockey sur glace game in France. 

Thanks for joining us at another sporting event in Paris.