monet, for someone who claims minimal school education, you do have quite a good writing style.You could be a writer in some capacity if u ever went into another trade.

Anyway there are alot of points worth commenting on...so I will number them so as not to run on and on

1- I smiled and recognize the need to consciously or sub-consciously break from your parents , even if it means picking a different sports team.

2- I have watched hockey even in a household having parents who knew nothing of sports. 7-8 years old watching it on a black and white TV, not really understanding it, but mesmerized by it. However it takes a special type of person to appreciate it. Which is why its not as popular in the USA with other choices available.
For example, I can admire a long majestic home run over the right field fence, I can admire and have it etched in my memory. I can soak in the joy of watching a high arcing pass into the endzone, or watch a runningback get through the first and second level of the defense and run 60 yards to the endzone. I can feel the joy as i watch a three point shot take off and swish through the net. However in hockey, especially at the game, things go so lightening quick that I dont know someone scored untill the horn goes off, and I see a team with their handis raised up in the air. I am not wired to process that so fast.
But there are people that are wired that way. I totally admire the people who call the game on tv and radio. They have the ability not only to see the goal, and identify the quickly changing players on the ice...but they often can tell you before replay, that the goal went through the legs of 2 players, or slightly ticked off the skate of another player. That is a real talent.
I will suspect that the average person at a hockey game cant keep track of who is on the ice at a given time. Probably couldnt name more than 2 players on their team, and probably zero players on the other team.
I submit that a reason "fights;" are so popular in hickey, is that its the only action that takes place in "normal" time.You can see the action unfold like in a football game....without the lightening quickness of skating.
Heck, when I am home watching hockey in hi def...there are many times they show a slow motion replay, and I still dont see the shot go in the net. Its that fast.
I know there is alot more to hockey than scoring. Heck I was sin NJ when the Devils came on the scene and became a fan, and they became a great defensive team with common 2-1 scores...and those games were entertaining as well.

3-Alcohol at sports events. I realize you arent a big fan of either team so it doesnt apply to your situation. However I cant understand why a real fan of a team would pay to go to a game and drink alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant. It reduces your awareness, and therefore reduces your ability to remember things you saw.(it does other things as well but i will focus on this one aspect of it). So why would someone go to a sporting event(or any event) where they were really into the team and players(or performing artist),....and reduce their ability to appreciate every image, every nuance of play, and reduce their ability to recall it later on, for the sake of getting "a buzz" during the performance. And especially in hockey, where things go so fast, having cognitive impairment from alcohol doesnt seem the way to go if you truly want to enjoy the nuts and bolts of the game to its fullest.....and remember it later as well.
I realize like you said that most people there didnt know the rules.....it was a tourist attraction for them, and most probably never went to a hockey game locally at home for their home team....so in vegas I can see alcohol sales and usage. Its a "happening".