Over Christmas vacation, my mom and I took a trip to Myrtle Beach, and while we were there, we decided to drive two hours to see the South Carolina Stingrays play. One of the reasons we chose to go was that some Stingrays players are also affiliated with the Hershey Bears, so it was exciting to see a team connected to my favorite one.

The game experience was quite different from a Hershey Bears game. The arena was much smaller, and there were fewer people in attendance, which gave it a more intimate feel. One of the coolest things we got to see before the game was the players outside playing sewer ball. It was fun to watch them interact and warm up before heading onto the ice.

My mom and I sat a few rows back from the glass, giving us a great view of the action. Even though none of the Hershey-affiliated players were in the lineup that night, we still had a great time cheering on the Stingrays. We also wore our Hershey Bears jerseys, and to our surprise, we were featured on the Stingrays’ social media page!

The game itself was a lot of fun, but the best part was everything we got to do afterward. We were able to go down to the ice and paint on it, which was an amazing experience. Of course, I had to leave my mark by painting a lot of Bears-related things, including #29 for my favorite player, Hendrix Lapierre. Earlier in the night, I also had the chance to go down into the tunnel and fist-bump the players as they came out, which was another highlight of the night.

One of my favorite parts of the experience was making a sign that said, “I drove from Hershey to watch you play!” It was fun to show my support, even far from home. But overall, the best part of the entire night was getting to share the experience with my mom. We had such a great time together, and it’s a memory I’ll always treasure.