If you”re a Northern California sports fan and haven”t been to the HP Pavilion at San Jose for a professional hockey game, you”re missing out.
At least that”s what I found after a trip there Saturday night.
The San Jose Sharks have called the arena (now named for the Hewlett-Packard Company) home since 1993, but in recent years, The Shark Tank has become not only one of the best home-ice advantages in the NHL, but the greatest regular-season venue in Bay Area pro sports.
Yes AT&T Park is the newest; the Oracle Arena is always loud and packed full of people decked out in yellow and blue; and the O.co Coliseum is a place visiting teams despise (for Oakland Raiders games, anyway). But the HP Pavilion has it all.
The exterior design is spectacular, the parking areas spacious, and the food and beverage options immense. As a hockey venue, fans are seated comfortably and close to the action, making it easy for the loud ones to impact the game.
Obviously Sharks supporters really enjoy the stadium, considering the 17,500-plus seats are usually filled every game (including Saturday night against the Phoenix Coyotes).
And best of all for fans, the Sharks usually win there.
San Jose posted an 84-22-17 home record the previous three regular seasons, including an NHL-best 32-5-4 mark in 2008-09, and the team has had 20 or more wins at The Tank every season since 2002-03.
Unfortunately for those in attendance Saturday, the Sharks were all bark while the Coyotes were all bite.
The Sharks seemed threatening all night, putting the puck on net 31 times, but Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith stymied them en route to earning a 3-0 shutout.
So often San Jose had the wrong guys shooting the puck (defenseman Brent Burns led the way with four shots while big-time scorers Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton combined for only five). Plus the team went 0-for-4 on the power play.
The Coyotes, on the other hand, actually sunk their teeth into their opponents, putting home two key first-period goals and a backbreaking third one with about seven minutes left in the game.
San Jose”s backup goalie, Thomas Greiss, got the start but couldn”t stop a Phoenix offense that mustered only 23 shots.
Though the Sharks got outmatched Saturday, they”re still in good shape. The loss dropped them to 9-5-1 overall (which has them in the top eight of the Western Conference at this point in the young season) and an impressive 8-2-1 in their last 11 games.
Sure San Jose has plenty to work on – getting Antti Niemi in the net every day, scoring consistently and improving on a 15th-ranked goals-against average – but their games are still incredibly entertaining. Even the losses.
So if you”re looking for something to watch tonight with the NBA locked out, check out the Sharks playing the Detroit Red Wings in San Jose.
And the next time you”re planning a trip to the South Bay, think about picking up Sharks tickets. You”ll get a good view of the action, enjoy good food and learn some things you wouldn”t by watching on TV (like the nuances of line changes).
If nothing else, take advantage of the chance to see a Zamboni once in your life.
