I had wondered what I would do between the end of the Bears game and the 6 pm Chicago Blackhawks start. However, since we ended up in the United Club at Soldier Field I had my answer. We left the United Club around 4:45 pm and I took the red line from the Roosevelt el stop and got off at the Monroe el stop. I transferred to the #20 Madison Street bus and got off at Ashland Ave. in order to eat dinner at Billy Goat Tavern, located at 1535 W. Madison St. – a few block walk to the United Center.

Another transfer option would have been to take the #19 United Center Express bus from downtown Chicago. However, the #20 came first and also does not stop at Ashland Ave.

Obtaining Tickets
After dinner, I made the walk to the United Center which passes most of the ticket scalpers along the way. I offered a scalper $5 (for a $15 face value ticket). He did not accept at first but accepted once he realized no other offers were coming his way.

The Game
The Blackhawks defeated the Calgary Flames 6-1. The Blackhawks have now won 11 straight games when I am in attendance at the United Center. Their last loss in a game I attended was January 11, 2008.

After the game, I planned to take the #9 Ashland bus back to Addison St. and Waveland Ave. – about 6 blocks from my house rather than take the #19 bus downtown and transfer to the red line. While I was waiting at the corner of Ashland and Madison St., I remembered I could logon to www.ctabustracker.com to determine when the next bus would arrive. It showed 2 minutes and the bus there within a minute or two of that estimate.