Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:23:40 -0500 From: Gregory Doxtater Subject: Sensational Celebration: Prologue Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction. It's not meant to imply that I have personal knowledge of the sexual orientations or personal lives of those mentioned. Feedback: More than welcome at gregorydoxtater@outlook.com Sensational Celebration: Prologue This story takes place back in 2007. The Ottawa Senators got off to a slow start this season. As you would expect, fans were calling for players to get traded, and for head coach Bryan Murray as well as general manager John Muckler to get fired. Martin Gerber, who the Senators signed via free agency in the summer, had struggled , and so did the team in front of him. Finally, Ray Emery was given the reigns in between the pipes, and he was nothing short of sensational. He posted 33 wins, which helped the Sens clinch a playoff berth. Sure enough, once the playoffs started, the media started asking questions about the teams' history of disappointments in the playoffs. The furthest the Senators had gotten in the playoffs to this point was game 7 of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils. With that said, there was more than enough encouragement for the team to go all the way. The Senators defeated the up-and-coming Pittsburgh Penguins in 5 games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Next, they defeated the New Jersey Devils also in 5 games. Finally, they beat the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres had clinched 1st place in the Eastern Conference in the regular season and the President's trophy, giving them home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Daniel Alfredsson scored the overtime/series winner in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals to advance the Senators to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in the modern franchise's history. After the Senators had their post-series media interviews, they took a bus to the airport, and boarded their charter plane back home. En route, Jason Spezza had invited some of the guys over to his place once they got back into Ottawa. Mike Fisher, Dany Heatley, Wade Redden, Joe Corvo, and Antoine Vermette all accepted the invitation. Little did they know, Jason had something wild planned for them. This is a story about team-bonding being taken to another level.