Entries with the tag: fans

Chatting with Patrice Bergeron

by Alanah McGinley on 04/02/08 at 04:11 PM
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From Boston Bruins.com’s Rinkside Chats,

Katie_From_ME: Since your injury, what is the one thing that you miss most about playing?
P_Bergeron: First and foremost, I’ve missed everything about the game. Being around the guys, being part of the action and part of the game and helping the team win. It’s tough sitting around and watching the team play and not being able to help.

Stockfan42: Patrice, what are the odds of seeing you suited up for the playoffs?
P_Bergeron: Not sure yet, I still have some doctors to see.  I am not cleared for contact yet but I’m hoping to continue to make progress and get back as soon as I can.

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Saluting Their Fans

by Alanah McGinley on 02/19/08 at 02:25 PM
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From John Glennon at the Tennessean,

Over the years, hardcore Predators fans have stuck up for their team through lean seasons and trying times.

These days, the Predators are — quite literally — sticking up for their fans.

What began as a one-game salute to supporters last month seemingly has transformed into a Sommet Center ritual. After every home victory the Predators gather at center ice and raise their sticks in unison to the crowd.

“We just want to show our appreciation to the fans because they help us win games and because we need them to be successful,’’ forward Vern Fiddler said.

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Filling Joe Louis A Priority

by Paul on 12/11/07 at 07:42 AM
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from Tom Walsh of the Detroit Free Press,

“Detroit’s Hockeytown crown has slipped,” wrote SI hockey writer Michael Farber.

Not so fast, says Mike Ilitch, owner of the Red Wings.

On Monday, Ilitch announced the hiring of Steve Violetta as senior vice president for business affairs, a new position reporting directly to Ilitch. Ken Holland, executive vice president and general manager, will continue to run the hockey operation.

Violetta’s mission is clear: Get more butts back in those seats. ASAP.

read on

What Starts In Pittsburgh & Ends In Montreal?

by Paul on 11/28/07 at 07:19 AM
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How about a road trip that hits every NHL, AHL and ECHL arena…

The Judge Loves Hockey

by Paul on 11/24/07 at 09:57 AM
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from KearneyHub.com (Nebraska),

Whether he’s on the bench or sitting on the ice, Gerry Jorgensen’s jobs are a lot alike.

As one of two Buffalo County Court judges, Jorgensen can be found presiding over cases during the day, but by night he’s a Storm hockey off-ice official or fan....

In his spare time, he also collects hockey jerseys and maintains a message board tracking every former Storm player’s games, statistics, injuries and season-to-date totals, whether they’re playing college or professional hockey. But it wasn’t until November 2000 when the Storm came to Kearney that Jorgensen’s jersey collection went full strength.

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Military Night

by Paul on 11/24/07 at 08:23 AM
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via the Edmonton Sun,

The Hockey Night in Canada tilt with the Chicago Blackhawks is military appreciation night, with fans being encouraged to turn their seats over to service men and women in Edmonton.

So far, close to 6,000 fans have returned their tickets for use by local soldiers.

“It was an incredibly good idea and a great job by our fans giving up their tickets,” said head coach Craig MacTavish. “Seeing the fatigues in the lower bowl ... if you don’t get inspired by something like that you must not have a heart.”

Catch A Game - Take The Train

by Paul on 11/18/07 at 07:59 AM
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from George Vecsey of the New York Times,

The woman was in the heartland of the opponent, wearing a fancy orange and blue jacket commemorating the four Stanley Cups won by the Islanders, albeit a quarter of a century ago.

“New York?” she shouted. “Is this the train to New York?”

It was, indeed. Parallel steel rails now connect the three hockey franchises in the area.

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Open Practice

by Paul on 11/16/07 at 06:09 AM
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from the Columbus Dispatch,

The NHL, unlike other major sports leagues, does not have lucrative national television contracts. The Blue Jackets rely heavily on gate receipts and recognize the value of letting fans attend free practices in the Ice Haus adjacent to the arena.

“We’re not in a position to be losing fans,” left winger Rick Nash said.

Fans can learn a lot about the sport, Hitchcock said, by attending practices. Former Tampa Bay Lightning coach Terry Crisp used to run one session a season wearing a microphone to educate the crowd.

“To me, the most fun is watching how a team performs in practice and how the coach yells and how many swear words he uses,” Hitchcock said.

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30 Games, 30 Cities, 30 Arenas… in 30 Nights!

by Alanah McGinley on 10/30/07 at 06:41 PM
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Steve Williamson is on a mission: to visit all 30 arenas and see 30 NHL games in 30 days.  So yeah, he’s sort of living our dreams right now.

For months, I’ve been planning the details of this 30 Games In 30 Nights trip.  Poring through the NHL schedule for hours to find just the right combination of games, staying away from the frigid winter months when weather could disrupt travel, finding affordable flights that get me into each city by 2pm, coming up with backup travel plans if flights are cancelled, and so on. 

So now I’m ready to roll, mentally and physically, for the Ultimate Hockey Road Trip!

Steve is attending his 5th game tonight in Montreal, and our own Paul Kukla had a chance to chat with him this afternoon.

Thrashers Fans Get Around

by Alanah McGinley on 10/30/07 at 12:29 PM
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From the Atlanta Thrashers,

“How many people can say their Thrasher jersey has traveled from one end of the earth to the other?! My Thrashers jersey has literally traveled around the world from the Middle East to East Asia, traveling thru Europe and the Pacific along the way. In August, my jersey and I took a short deployment to Kuwait. In October, my jersey and I deployed to Qatar. Hockey jerseys were not made with the middle east in mind- the temperature was 115 degrees while taking these photos”

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Here’s the really odd thing: Major Daniel Barnes also just randomly runs into another Thrashers’ fan wearing the team jersey, wandering around Amsterdam.  Small world…

A Habs Gathering

by Paul on 10/22/07 at 09:49 AM
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from the Montreal Gazette,

While many people were enjoying the sunshine this summer, a group of devoted fans from across North America that congregate on Habsinsideout.com decided they should get together to watch their favourite team up close in Montreal.

What started as an innocent comment from Brian Jones, known as Yeats on the website, turned into the Habs Fan Summit, a full day of events that brought Canadiens fans from across the continent together on Saturday to watch the Habs defeat the Buffalo Sabres 4-2.

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Caps Plan A “White-Out”

by Paul on 10/19/07 at 09:02 AM
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from Empty Netters,

We’re going to jump the gun a bit here and briefly preview the Penguins-Capitals game in Washington Saturday.

Many EN readers have told us of the Capitals’ attempts to minimize the healthy contingent of Penguins fans that usually show up at Verizion Center anytime the Penguins are in town. We went to both Penguins games in Washington last season and there were at least 5,000 Penguins fans in the house each game.

The Capitals are attempting to stage a “white-out” night and are encouraging their fans to wear white to the game. They are also handing out white towels to the first 15,000 that show up.

read on for more and numerous NHL bits…

The Professional Heckler

by Paul on 10/02/07 at 01:45 PM
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from the Mirror-Guardian,

Fact is, his new job is way better than that. He gets to be even more irritating than Jeff Probst. After years of annoying people at NHL games for free, Nick is officially turning pro this week - he’s becoming a professional heckler....

NICK: “Hey bonehead, wake me up when you make a good call. Or better yet have a Sony digital clock radio wake you up instead. So you can get back to doing what you do best - screwing up hockey games.

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