The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Lightning fans taste the joy of victory, agony of defeat

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The Colorado Avalanche ended the Tampa Bay Lightning’s bid to take home the Stanley Cup for the third consecutive time.

Instead, the Avalanche clinched the best of seven games finals in Game 6, at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa.

The Avalanche won 2-1, in a series that had a bit of everything. Each team had a blow-out win, two games were decided in overtime and two games were settled by one-point margins.

Players battled through injuries, and ultimately, the fans were the winners — watching two teams that gave it their all.

Arenas in each town were filled with cheering crowds and there were outdoor watch parties, too, including gatherings at the KRATE, at the Grove at Wesley Chapel.

A live shot of crowds arriving at Ball Arena in Denver prior to the start of the first game in the Stanley Cup Finals, shown on the big screen TV at a free watch party held at the KRATE, at the Grove at Wesley Chapel. (Fred Bellet)
Andrew Olson, of Brooksville, wears his 2021 Stanley Cup Champions cap, as he and his wife, Melissa, watch the Tampa Bay Lightning struggle against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Olson, a former Blackhawks fan, switched his allegiance to the Lightning when he moved to the Tampa Bay area in 2005.
It may have been raining, but die-hard Tampa Bay Lightning fans attended a watch party at the KRATE, in the Grove at Wesley Chapel. Dennise Colon, of Wesley Chapel, right, under her umbrella did not let rain stop her from watching Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. She was at the free, outdoor event hosted by KRATE, with her husband, Ramon, and daughters, Selyse, 11, and Sariya,12.
Here, the goal cam in Denver’s Ball Arena captures Bolt’s goaltender No. 88 Andrei Vasilevskiy, as he blocks a shot.
Tina Burkardt, of Wesley Chapel, brought a portable fan to keep her cool, while watching the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals. She didn’t bring an umbrella, which would have been helpful, too.
Ten-year-old Jaxson Twisdale bites nervously on the tip of his foam rubber Bolts finger. He was at the KRATE with his parents, Jim and Theresa Twisdale, of Land O’ Lakes, for a free watch party. The Avalanche dominated in a 7-0 win over the Bolts in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Watching the big screen TV, fans cheer as the Tampa Bay Lightning tie up the game 3-3 against the Colorado Avalanche. The first Stanley Cup Finals game went into overtime, with the Avalanche defeating Tampa Bay, 4 to 3.

 

 

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