Walker's family witnesses history, Capitals fans go wild for Australian

For one night, Washington D.C. could have been mistaken for Canberra. At least inside of Capital One Arena.

Washington Capitals forward and Australian Nathan Walker made his
historic NHL debut
Saturday, and the fans made sure his family felt right at home.

Chants filled the arena, fans held signs that read "G'Day, Nate" and one pair of ticket holders even donned Australian flag-themed full body suits.

"It was surreal," Ceri Walker, Nate's mother, told NHL.com after her son became the first Australian player in League history. "We saw the flags. They were chanting 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!' in our section. It was a great atmosphere."
Walker, of course, didn't disappoint, scoring a second-period goal by deflecting Devante Smith-Pelly's shot past Montreal Canadiens goalie Al Montoya. It was so subtle, he wasn't initially credited with the goal.

"We thought it was his (goal). We've watched him play for so long. We know his stance and what he does," Ceri Walker said. "But we thought maybe we were wrong. Then there was an alert, they changed it to his goal. It was absolutely tremendous."
The group Ceri spoke of included Nathan's father, Wayne, Nathan's fiancee, Tayla Billinghurst, Nathan's brother Ryan and his girlfriend, Ellyse, and longtime family friends.
"So many fans had the signs that said 'G'Day Nate,'" Billinghurst told NHL.com. "It was really cool to see. I can't wait to jump online and see all the pictures."

The family's amazing and emotional night, which began with near tears of joy from Ceri when

for a few laps to loud applause, was a whirlwind.
"My gosh," Billinghurst said. "I was literally shaking. I am still shaking. We were so excited."
Real-time correspondent Elyssa Morris contributed to this report.