Hitting NHL ice

Colin takes a faceoff at center ice of the Tampa Bay Times Forum,
in a view from the Lightning Vision jumbo screen above the rink.

Even with the NHL lockout, there's still something pretty special about watching your kid play hockey on an NHL rink. That will be us later today, when Colin skates with the Pinellas P.A.L. Stars in a youth hockey game during Battle of the Badges festivities at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Stars, who play in a local recreational league, will take on the Scorpions, another rec league team, in a full game. That takes place, though, after the kids, as well as the parents, get a tour, led by former Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk, of the Lightning's locker room.

We're hearing, too, that the teams will play a five-minute exhibition during the first intermission of the Battles of the Badges, which pits police officers against fire fighters in a hockey game.

Though Colin has skated at the Forum before, this is the first time he has ever played a game on an NHL rink. And as excited as we are about this, I can only imagine how pumped he'll be.

It's days like this that make for positive hockey memories.