The Chronicles of Stanley is an occasional series this summer that tracks the Pittsburgh Penguins as they each get their special alone time with the Stanley Cup. For more about the travels of the Chalice, visit the Hockey Hall of Fame's Stanley Cup journal.

How’d you celebrate your 22nd birthday? Some friends? A couple of beers and shots? A nice dinner?  When you’re Sidney Crosby(notes) and your day with the Stanley Cup falls on your birthday, it’s a recipe for a huge party featuring over 60,000 of your closest friends.

Crosby’s day with the Stanley Cup was celebrated in his hometown of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia where he arrived aboard a Sea King helicopter at a Halifax wharf. A birthday cake was presented to the Pittsburgh Penguins captain, who then did the honors using a sword. That’s the kind of cutlery you get access to when you win the Stanley Cup.

When Crosby was an up and coming prospect, the story of him pelting the family dryer with pucks as target practice grew into legend. Crosby’s dryer abuse was brought up by Jay Leno when he appeared on The Tonight Show in 2005. Not to be left out from the celebrations, the famous dryer was on display and fans were lining up to get their picture taken with it. Who said the Stanley Cup was the only inanimate object in demand yesterday?

Much of the day was spent with members of the Canadian military whose service is not forgotten with Crosby:

“You talk about sacrifice a lot as a hockey player. The things we sacrifice seem like they are very minimal compared to what people have to sacrifice here with what their families go through and what it takes to serve your country like they do,” Crosby said, the league’s MVP in 2007. “We definitely talk about those things and we use those terms loosely, but when you really get to meet people up close and realize what they do, I think you have an every greater respect.

“I’m sure there are families here who have husbands and wives overseas and, even for a day, this is something they can enjoy and have fun with.”

One thing Crosby’s wanted to do if he won the Stanley Cup was to play a street hockey game with his friends. He got that opportunity in a roller hockey game where Crosby played in goal and from the video provided by NHL.com, it looks like he borrowed some old pads from Garth Snow: