by Shannon Penfound, Staff Writer and Event Coordinator, All Habs Hockey Magazine

WINNIPEG, MB. — Many Saturday nights during my childhood were spent sitting on the couch & watching the Detroit Red Wings game with my dad. He has been an avid Wings fan since the 70’s and he made sure that I grew up to be a BIG fan of HockeyTown.

My room was plastered with all sorts of Red Wings memorabilia, most of which I still own today. I remember my first time watching the Red Wings hoist the cup. It was 1997; their first cup since the 50’s, and my dad was overjoyed. The team went on to win another Stanley Cup in 1998 and I have fond memories of the team skating on the ice with injured teammate, Vladimir Konstantinov, after the final whistle.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still love my Wings and cheer them on regularly, but my heart now belongs to Montreal.

Just before the playoffs of the 2001-2002 season, I happened to catch a very important game. It was April 9, 2002 – Montreal versus (my most-despised team at the time) the Ottawa Senators. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about the Canadiens because, at the time, they were in the East while Detroit was in the West, and frankly, they didn’t strike me as a threat. Everything I thought I knew about hockey changed on this night.

When the crowd stood to cheer on their captain, Saku Koivu, following his return from a fight with cancer, I could see the fans held a lot of respect for this player. Nearly ten minutes later, with the crowd still erupting in deafening applause, I understood their love for this game & for this team. The Habs went on to beat Ottawa that night, which simply solidified for me that I ought to give them a little more credit and I vowed to keep a closer eye on them for the rest of the season.

Montreal took out Boston in the first round of the playoffs in 2002, but fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games, ending their season. Goaltender Jose Theodore went on to win both the Vezina and the Hart trophies – only the third goaltender in NHL history to accomplish this feat. Much to my father’s dismay, I was completely hooked, and our household now cheered for both the red and white and the bleu-blanc-rouge.

Over the last 12 years, I have watched our Habs rise and fall, face two lockouts, and rebuild. I have lived in hockey markets like Toronto and Winnipeg, and dealt with constant trash-talking from some of our biggest rivalries. But the fact of the matter is: I am a proud Montreal Canadiens fan. And why wouldn’t I be? We have the best fans in the world, in one of the greatest cities in the world.

With two months left until the start of the 2014-’15 season, I am more hopeful than I have ever been. And, possibly, more impatient than I have ever been. I am sure many Habs fans agree that this offseason has seen some big changes and has, at times, left us scratching our heads. I trust that this team will pull together and persevere this year. We need to continue to have faith in this club and the decisions it has made, even if we don’t always agree with them.

The Montreal Canadiens stole my heart in 2002, but they have been around for over 100 years. With the richest history in the league, backed by the most Cup wins and some of the greatest players to have ever hit the ice, the Montreal Canadiens exemplify the grit and heart that is required to succeed in the NHL.

This is our team. This is our game. We are hockey.