Over the weekend I drove up to Columbus with a couple of friends to meet another friend who currently lives in the state capital. The primary destination of the trip was to attend the Columbus Blue Jackets game versus the St. Louis Blues. Growing up playing hockey, I’m happy to have a NHL team somewhat nearby, but I don’t make it to nearly enough games.

Nationwide Arena

Rather than making the two-hour drive north, most professional hockey I watch is provided by the Cincinnati Cyclones. But really there is no comparison. Aside from the obvious difference in talent, Nationwide Arena blows US Bank Arena away. Even the view from some of the highest seats at Nationwide are great.

Games at Intermission

There is a lot to do around the arena during intermissions too. My friends and I challenged some of the local kids to a game of table hockey and ended up losing badly. It was as if my friends and I were the Blues and these local kids were the Blue Jackets, though our score wasn’t nearly as embarrassing as the real Blues 7-1 loss to the Blue Jackets this night.

High School Hall of Hockey

Connected to Nationwide Arena is the OhioHealth Ice Haus, the practice facility for the Blue Jackets. This rink also serves as the home ice for many of the high school teams in the area. In fact there was a game going on during the Blue Jackets game, and we could watch a little of the action from the concourse of Nationwide. Next season I may try to make a weekend trip to catch my alma mater play a road game as the Ice Haus along with another Blue Jackets game.