Ringing in the New Year with the Cleveland Monsters

January 2, 2023

by Ashley Basile Oeken, President, Engage! Cleveland

As a parent of young children, I often find it hard to take them to sporting events since most don’t start until 7 or 8pm. By that point, we are fully in bath and bed mode. I was pleasantly surprised to see the Cleveland Monsters hosting a hockey game on New Year’s Eve at 12:31pm in honor of the holiday.

Our family of four attended the game and had such a great experience. We parked in the attached garage to avoid the elements and were happy that downtown parking was only $10! Major win! We went inside and found our seats.

The Monsters did a great job of entertaining kids during all of the intermissions and game delays. From the dance cam to challenges, it was a lot of fun. The Monsters were losing 3-0 and it was hard to keep our enthusiasm going when suddenly something super exciting happened…a fight. The crowd roared with excitement when the fight broke out and I realized how unique fighting is in hockey to other sports. My kids kept staring and seemed incredibly perplexed by the fight. Trying to explain a hockey fight to 4 and 6 year olds proved slightly difficult, but by the end I think they got it.

The Monsters rallied in the third period to bring the game to 3-2. It was pretty exciting, but they ultimately lost the game. Hopefully we will see a win at our next Monsters game. We plan to be back to enjoy the excitement and family fun.