What an awesome atmosphere.

That’s really the only way to describe what it felt like being outside with the true fans here at Ralph Wilson Stadium. It was electric, the kind of energy that sent chills down my spine and legs.

Like I said, just awesome.

I went outside about 50 minutes before faceoff with Adam Kimelman and Ira Poddell from the Associated Press. There were two DJs pumping up the crowd and both CBC and NBC introductions were shown on the big screen here. When NBC went live, there was a countdown so the crowd could work themselves into an uproar, which it did. I can only imagine what it was like watching from home, or from the HSBC Arena, where there was 11,500 people for the House Party.

There was some worries, though, as the snow fell at a rapid pace. However, as soon as Doug Allen performed ‘O Canada’ and Ronan Tynan completed his sterling rendition of ‘God Bless America’ it was like the hockey god’s shining down on Ralph Wilson Stadium because the snow let up just enough to make the perfect picture for the television cameras.

The excitement grew to a fevered pitch when the teams came out for warmups. It was awesome to see the kids, who were playing a game of shinny on the auxiliary rink, to stop, line up and bang their sticks on the ice as the players walked down the matting to the ice.

Ty Conklin was the first on the ice. Evgeni @% was the last off the ice after warmups finished. Even Drew Stafford, who is out with a concussion, skated during warmups. Stafford, who is exercising and hoping to return soon, probably just wanted to take a twirl so he could experience the atmosphere and history of the event for himself.

The offense didn’t disappoint either as Colby Armstrong potted the game’s first goal just 21 seconds in after Sidney Crosby dashed to the crease from the right of Ryan Miller and got a quick shot off. The rebound was left in front and Armstrong banged it home.

The puck was a little slow through the first 10 minutes as the snow built and the remaining snow from the heavy stuff that had come down remained. However, with an ice cut 10:06 into the period seemed to solve that and the ice played much faster for the rest of the period.

Here’s hoping that stays the same.

We’ve got about nine minutes to go before the second period starts, so I’ll sign off for now. Enjoy the game.