Oct 12, 2005 By Commentary Pete Riddell 4 min read

As I settled into seat #43 in the Mellon Arena press box Saturday night for the Penguins’ home opener against the Boston Bruins, a sense of d?j? vu came over me. It occurred to me that about 10 years had passed since I last covered a hockey game for this newspaper.

The last one was a momentous occasion, too. It was the debut of Connellsville’s hockey program at Divito Park in West Leisenring in the mid-90’s.

Yeah, they only dust me off for the big ones.

But the two events had more in common than one might realize.

Seriously.

Both had at the center of attention teenagers trying to find their way.

Saturday night, when announced for the first time before an expectant home crowd, 18-year-old Sidney Crosby promptly joined his teammates – at the wrong end of the line. He exchanged some polite handshakes, and no doubt, some snide comments, as he humbly skated past them all to the other end. In Connellsville’s case, I recall a couple players literally trying to find their way off the ice during a shift change. One kid, bless his heart, hadn’t yet mastered the art of stopping, and just kind of threw himself against the board in front of the bench.

Both events gave me chills.

Saturday night, they came when Mario Lemieux was introduced – last, of course – immediately after Crosby. The extended standing eruption from the capacity crowd felt every bit of 18 months in the making, and overflowed as a Pittsburgh-sincere appreciation of everything he’s meant to the franchise. Oh, and my chills at Divito Park? I distinctly remember that the work-in-progress Ice Mine had no heat. No seats, either. Cold on the keister.

Both affairs also featured wide-open offense.

Admittedly, the Pens did a better job of pleasing their home crowd.

Even at 40, Mario demonstrated he can still drop jaws and flummox defenders with his Yoda-like rink vision and stick-handling chops. As delectable as his two goals were, just to hear the sense of expectation ripple through a full Mellon Arena whenever the puck was on his stick was easily worth the price of admission (even for the $85 good seats). Conversely, although the name of the Connellsville goalie escapes me, I’ll never forget his mastery of understatement – “That was a lot of rubber” – after being peppered with some 70 shots on goal.

But perhaps the most pertinent parallel to be drawn from my otherwise (admittedly) reach of a comparison is this: in both cases, the final scores were secondary.

Anyone remember the Connellsville score?

Years from now, the fact that the Pens’ lost 7-6 in sudden death will be a forgotten footnote to history.

After the game even the typically crusty assembled media shied from any hard look at the breakdowns that contributed to a squandered two-goal lead in a game the Pens clearly should have pocketed. Heck, once we saw the exuberance of the Pens’ bench after Crosby’s first NHL goal – grown men becoming teenagers – it was as if we were granted a free pass to give the bigger picture the night off.

I mean, come on … The Kid’s first goal. Mario’s brilliance. A rocking arena. Hope.

Hockey.

For the 17,132 paying customers, and the 54 credentialed media – including the guy in seat #43 – it was more than enough.

If tradition holds, I’ll catch you in another 10 years.

Let the record show that, seconds after scooting a loose puck past a prone Hannu Toivonent for his first NHL goal, Crosby glided backwards, exuberantly slammed his shoulders back against the curved glass to the right of the goal, and issued a two-word-statement:

“Yeah!!!!. Whhooooooo!!!!”

Spoken like a true teenager.

Yet his enthusiasm may have taken a backseat to the reactions from the bench, Lemieux included.

“Everybody was pretty happy when he got the rebound,” said Number 66. “The guys were waiting for that. We know how hard he’s been working to make sure he’s ready to play in the NHL.”

“I’m sure he’ll never forget it,” said coach Ed Olczyk. “You never forget your first one, that’s for sure.”

And neither will the 17,132 paying customers, and the 54 credentialed media in attendance Saturday night at the Mellon Arena.

Especially the guy in Seat #43.

See ya in another 10 years.

Pete Riddell is a correspondent for the Herald-Standard