Years ago, one of my friends suggested we open up a sports bar that would focus exclusively on teams from some overlooked cities in the Midwest, such as St. Louis, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. He even had a clever name for this would-be establishment: The Rust Belt. I wasn’t overly familiar with that term, but he informed me that it referred to that region near the Great Lakes that was a booming industrial mecca at the beginning of the 20th century, only to see the manufacturing jobs disappear and the population dwindle.

From Chicago to Buffalo, the Rust Belt is home to several NHL teams - but for this trip I would focus on the rich history of western Pennsylvania. In addition to visiting Pittsburgh, I could travel to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well as Johnstown, where my favorite sports movie (Slap Shot) was filmed. And though I’d already been to a couple of games in Columbus, my travel companion Chad had yet to visit the city, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to go back to one of my favorite NHL venues.

I also scheduled this trip to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday, as I have family and friends in neighboring Ohio. My good friends Tony and Kasey live in Dayton, so they decided to make the four-hour drive and join us in Pittsburgh for the Penguins game. From there, they would drive us back to Ohio for Thanksgiving dinner - my sister would meet us for the holiday - and we could see the Blue Jackets in Columbus the following day.