It's a game to some, a religion to others. To me, hockey is part of my love story with Canada

This First Person column is written by Erlinda Tan, a Filipina Canadian and Edmonton Oilers fan who now lives in Vancouver. For more information about First Person stories, see the FAQ .

The first full hockey game I ever watched was during the 2010 Winter Olympics — the memorable final against the U.S. when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in a nail-biting overtime.

Along with friends on Vancouver Island, I watched the game on a big TV screen and then followed the news to see Canada erupt in jubilation from coast to coast to coast. Cars honked for victory, while people sang O Canada inside trains, buses, malls, just everywhere.

I had moved to Canada from the Philippines just a few months earlier. I had only seen hockey in photos. But I couldn't believe a hockey victory could unite a nation to such a degree. It was one of the most beautiful displays of people-power I had ever seen. 

From then on, I became curious about the sport. From time to time, while busy settling in my new country, I would briefly check the game on TV. It didn't excite me the way it had on Feb. 28, 2010, but as I built my new life, it was like the sport was following me — people wearing hockey jerseys, loud cheers in my apartment building when the game was on. One day, I included hockey in my "To Learn" checklist as a new immigrant in Canada. 

It was spring 2014 when I went to my first in-person hockey game. It was the Edmonton Oilers versus the Anaheim Ducks. I was invited by a friend who's a big hockey fan and buys tickets for the whole season. 

When I heard the buzzer sound, I was reminded of the sound of ships about to dock back home in the Philippines. But I wasn't at the ocean. I was inside Edmonton's Rexall Place, a hockey arena