Almost 2 decades before this rink trip my wife Mary and I walked into a LaMaze class and met a couple named Sherry and Carm. Who knew then that our two boys (born a couple of weeks apart) would become and remain life long best friends. And that, within a month of them turning 18, Adam and I would be in Montreal with Aidan and Carm to catch the Leafs playing the Habs. While we were there the boys would have a chance to have their first (legal) drink in Canada as the legal drinking age in Quebec is 18 as opposed to 19 in our home province of Ontario.
Friday February 8, 2019
Adam and I hit the road early as Adam had booked a campus tour at Queens University in Kingston, ON. Kingston is about a 3 hour drive from our house and was one of the universities Adam was seriously considering. Established in 1841, Queens is beautiful with many older buildings as well as some modern architecture throughout the campus. We had a very informative tour, a quick stop at the campus bookstore to buy a sweatshirt and headed back on the road.
One of the main buildings on campus. 
Adam shopping at the Queen’s bookstore.
Some of the guys on my hockey team we talking about trips to Quebec and mentioned that the one thing you need to do is stop at Costco and buy beer. There wasn’t a Costco on our way so we took a different route into town and hit the Pointe-Claire Costco. This may seem like a long way to go for beer but the pricing makes it worth the detour. Although, as we were getting close we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a complete white-out. Cars were pulled off the road, everyone had their hazards on and it got pretty hairy. But we soldiered on in our pursuit of cheaper beer.
It was a Friday around dinnertime and the Costco was pretty packed. We headed to the very back of the store and found the beer display. Sure enough, the prices were incredible. A 60 pack of Coors Light was $63.43 + deposit so $69.43 in total. Just to put that in perspective, if I was to go to my local beer store in Ontario and buy a 48 pack and a 12 pack (we don’t have 60 packs) it would cost $113.90. Pretty incredible difference for just purchasing from one province to the east! We grabbed three 60 packs and a case of Stella for Carm, snagged a couple of $1.50 hot dog and drink combos at the Costco restaurant and headed to the hotel.
Crazy price difference. 
Adam picking up a case (legally).
We were staying at the Holiday Inn Centre-Ville which is a short walk from the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens. When Carm and Aidan arrived we all headed out in the bitter cold in search of some food and a drink or two. The boys were eager to try and order a drink as they had ID’s (real ones) that confirmed their legal manhood status. We decided on a bar called La Cage aux Sports which is a part of the Bell Centre but accessible from the street. Once we got in Carm and I sat at a table while the boys went to the bar and ordered, anticipating the need to proudly whip out their driver’s licences to validate their request. The order was for Jack Daniels – neat and, much to their surprise, the bartender didn’t even ask them for ID. A little bit anti-climactic but they ended up getting asked at other places throughout the weekend so it worked out all right.
It’s tougher then you think it would be to find a place that serves food and drinks a little later in the night so we went to a couple of different bars and ended the night at a place called Ye Olde Orchard Pub and Grill. It had a great atmosphere and would figure in our adventures the next night too. (that’s called foreshadowing)
Saturday, February 9, 2019
Game-day dawned clear and cold. A great day for hockey. Both boys spent a few hours catching up on some homework and Carm made his own trip to Costco in the afternoon. Then we headed out to a restaurant the Carm and Aidan had been to a few times over the years. It is an old-school, traditional, family-run Italian place called Les Tre Marie. Located in Little Italy on Clark St, it serves homemade style cuisine and has a great atmosphere. The food, wine and service were excellent and we had a thoroughly enjoyable meal.
It’s right on a corner so an interesting building. 
The Italian looking bar…very authentic place!
We went back to the hotel to drop the car off and then went straight to the Bell Centre. The streets were filled with people wearing jerseys from both teams. Always a sign of a great rivalry game. The Bell Centre, formally known as the Molson Centre, opened in March of 1996 and has the largest seating capacity of all the NHL rinks at 21,288. It is a fantastic spot to watch a game as the crowd really gets excited and the noise inside the rink, particularly after a home goal, is extremely loud. We were lucky enough to be attending a game where the Canadians we hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. One of the best rivalries in sports, dating back to 1917 it is the oldest rivalry in the NHL, the teams were only separated by one point in the standings and both were clinging to playoff spots so they were sure to be playing hard. The game didn’t disappoint, it was a back and forth affair with Toronto winning 4 – 3 in overtime on a Tavaras backhand right in front of our seats…awesome!
Great pre-game show. 
Shot from our seats. 
The boys Adam, Jeff, Aidan, Carm.
After the game, we, and 20,000 other jacked up hockey fans left the rink in search of some celebratory food and drinks. We ended up going back to Ye Olde Orchard Pub and Grill. It was pretty packed but we managed to get a table and settled in to enjoy the atmosphere. There were two guitar players on stage and they were really good. The discussion turned to scotch and we set up a bit of a tasting program with various varieties. It was interesting to enjoy the different flavour and textures. We ordered some wings and absorbed the atmosphere. As the night was coming to a close, Adam decided to ask the band if they would let him go up on stage and sing a song. Amazingly enough, they did and Adam did a great rendition of the Tim Hicks song, Stronger Beer. The crowd got into it and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Aidan got a great video of it that can be seen here XXXXXXXXXXXX. The band finished up their final set and we all headed home…another really fun night in the books!
What to get…so many choices! 
Adam asking the band if he can go on stage and perform. 
Everybody having a great time!
Sunday, February 10, 2019
We woke up and headed home after a very fun weekend. The lesson we learned is that if you ask nicely you never know what you can get!
