And that victory is still so sweet.
"And they still won," Gertenrich said. "It's the best day of my life right now. . . Totally amazing that they could get those goals in that short of a span."
The 67-year-old Gertenrich has attended 2,000-straight home Blackhawks games. His Skokie apartment is filled with Blackhawks memorabilia. But he watched the Game 6 victory at a friend's house in Morton Grove.
" We just had pizza and a couple of beers and watched them win. And then after I got home I went out and had a couple more and talked it over with my friends," Gertenrich said.
Gertenrich's saved ticket stubs from every home game since January 23, 1966. That's 2,155 games.
"[This stub] is from the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final in 1971," Gertenrich said. "The price then was $5.25."
And now? "$150," Gertenrich laughed. He's got tickets for Wednesday's game- Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. The game that won't be played because the Hawks clinched it in Game 6.
"I can keep them because I keep all of them. You don't have to give them back. Years ago we had to throw them back. But now they don't do that. We can keep them now," Gertenrich said.
He gets a refund as a down payment on next year.
