Andy McDonald has his day with the Stanley Cup

Well Andy's day with the cup looked like a lot of fun. Here is what you might have seen and heard if you were there:

Utica Observer Dispatch has a nice article

For at least today, the center of the hockey universe is Central New York.
Andy McDonald of the National Hockey League champion Anaheim Ducks is bringing the Stanley Cup to Hamilton, and Westmoreland resident Robert Esche will have several NHL award trophies with him at the Think Rink Festival at Kennedy Arena in Rome.
"Oddly enough, we're going to have all the trophies in Central New York Saturday," said NHL goalie Esche, who will appear at the festival to celebrate the refurbishing of Kennedy Arena. "It's great for the area, and we really want to show fans how much work they're going to do on Kennedy Arena.
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Another article by the Utica Observer Dispatch with picture

The airplane hatch opened, and seconds later Andy McDonald emerged. As he did in June, McDonald held the Stanley Cup over his head, basking in the National Hockey League championship belonging to his Anaheim Ducks.

But on Saturday, McDonald got to celebrate with his fans at Colgate University. And the cheers seemed just as loud.

McDonald, a 2000 Colgate graduate, spent part of his 24 hours with the Cup in Hamilton. About 3,000 fans poured onto Payne Street in the north end of the village to get a glimpse of professional sports’ most famous trophy, lining up for hours before McDonald arrive

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The Post Standard has their take:

As one of the fastest players in the NHL, Anaheim forward Andy McDonald can cram a lot of magic within a few ticks of the clock.
Like how he elevated his status from very good player to one on the cusp of greatness, for instance. He needed just 60 sec- onds to pull off that little trick June 4.
That was the day McDonald scored two eye-rubbing goals to help his Ducks beat Ottawa 3-2 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals. Anaheim went on to win the trophy, which McDonald is bringing to his alma mater, Colgate, on Saturday.
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The London Free Press has coverage of his visit to Strathroy

They came by the hundreds yesterday to celebrate with Andy McDonald, Strathroy's favourite son.
And what a celebration it was.
The first people arrived at West Middlesex Memorial Arena before 7 a.m. By the time the Anaheim Ducks forward came with the Stanley Cup, they were lined up around the arena. The line never seemed to shorten as fans snaked inside on the arena floor to get to McDonald.
He was signing autographs on hats and posters of him holding the Stanley Cup above his head moments after the Ducks won it. He signed T-shirts, sticks and pucks. There were entire families in line. The task was daunting. McDonald began at 2:30 p.m. and was scheduled to go three hours, but there was no way everyone was going to see him.
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News10Now.com has an article plus video

You get one day with Lord Stanley's Cup. That’s 24 hours to do with it what you will and Andy McDonald wanted to bring it to Colgate University.
“As soon as you win the cup, you start thinking about what you are going to do with it on your day and that's what I did. Colgate has been very important to me and my development and I knew I wanted to bring the cup here,” McDonald said.
“It's like the holy grail, it really is, you get butterflies in your stomach and for Andy to bring the cup here, I could see when he was holding it as he got out of the car, he said now this will wake me up! It's just great to have him here,” said Don Vaughan, Colgate men’s hockey coach.
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Colgate University has coverage as well

Andy McDonald, the former Colgate University hockey player who was called too small to play professionally, stood tall on Saturday as he hoisted the Stanley Cup above his head in front of thousands of fans gathered in the village of Hamilton.
A key member of the NHL-champion Anaheim Ducks, McDonald spent about three hours in the village and on campus as part of his whirlwind day with the cherished NHL trophy.
Each Ducks player gets to spend a day with the Cup, and McDonald, Class of 2000, said he wanted to share his day with area fans and members of the Colgate community.