The Reunion Arena is fairly similar to the Mellon Arena but the city is building a brand new home for the Stars and the Dallas Mavericks basketball team. Located just a mile or so from Reunion, it will be called the American Airlines Arena and will open next year.

The Dallas fans were most appreciative of Mario and Company. When Lemieux was announced in the starting line up, there was a cheer from all in attendance. Penguin jerseys, especially "66" ones, dotted the seats and there were pockets of Pittsburgh fans who were vocal during great plays by our team.

When the National Anthem began to play, I was standing and singing along with my hand on my heart, expecting nothing out of the ordinary. When they got to the part of the Star-Spangled Banner that says, "….whose broad stripes and bright STARS…." The entire auditorium screamed "STARS" and startled me! It was kind of neat, just unexpected. Another feature I wasn’t used to was the extremely loud horn that blows when the Stars score a goal. The noise level in the Arena is pretty high already and the prolonged toot of the horn, really makes it loud in there.

I chose a great game to see in person because before too long, it got to be a shoot-out between two great offensive teams. Although Dallas plays a strong defensive system that often irritates Brett Hull, their best scorer, this game turned offensive and stayed that way through overtime.

The Pens scored the first two goals of the game but in the second period, Dallas came out shooting and tied it up. The third period went back and forth with Jagr scoring for the Pens, closely followed by Hull scoring for the Stars; then Lang for Pittsburgh and Zubov for Dallas. But not even a minute later, Kovalev scored a beauty and tied the game at 5-5.

Unfortunately Garth Snow knocked Daryl Sydor’s shot into the his own net in overtime and the Pens lost, but in the new system of play in the NHL, gained a point anyway.

After the game, the Stars’ fans were happy and boisterous as they exited the Arena. One thing that wasn’t too different from a game in Pittsburgh was the temperature on a January evening. As I stood outside waiting for a cab, it was 21 degrees - approximately the same as it was in Pittsburgh!

The next day I read in the paper that Brett Hull loved the game and the way it was played and he said he would have paid $90 to watch it!

"The Stars at night, shine big and bright --- deep in the heart of Texas!"