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Twenty-five years ago this weekend, the Ottawa Senators played their first home opener, against the Montreal Canadiens.
There were no Kanata driving complaints then, except for the folks from Kanata who made the trek down to the Civic Centre in the Glebe to witness hockey history.
The old rink was full to bursting, but then it only took 10,500 people to fill the place. It was so long ago, Brian Mulroney was Canada’s prime minister and his wife, Mila, was getting the rock star treatment sitting in the crowd among all the newly anointed Senators fans.
By the occasion of Thursday’s 25th season opener of the Senators, a lot of water had flowed under the Bank Street Bridge, more than ever passed through the old “Carp River,” which once nearly kept the Ottawa franchise from happening, had that old dried up ditch been proven to be a “navigable waterway.”
Twenty five years after the Miracle On Bank Street – a 5-3 win over the Habs in the first game in Ottawa’s modern-day history – Senators players had to be wondering what they had to do to earn a sellout around here — having carried the community to a thrilling three-round playoff ride last spring.
And scalpers were wondering how they were supposed to send their children to college.
“Come see me on Oct. 21,” said a ticket mover outside the Red Zone of Gate 1 pregame, as the sun was setting beyond the Canadian Tire Centre.
Oct. 21?
“The Leafs are here. And it’s a Saturday night. Then we’re talking money!”
He laughs, knowing how it works at the CTC. Maple Leafs fans can’t find or can’t afford tickets to see their team in Toronto, so they pack the rink in Kanata. Many in the National Capital Region grew up as Leafs or Habs fans before the Senators came on the scene. Some Senators fans give up seats to these games to avoid the annoyance of all that blue-and-white personage.
With the Washington Capitals in town for Thursday’s opener, the building was slightly less than full, despite the drastic measure of placing tarp on about 1,500 seats in the 300 level. The new capacity is about 17,000.
An hour before game time, a few hundred seats remained, some for as little as $34 at the box office. Stubhub was offering third-level seats at $20 U.S. Resellers have to recalculate in these circumstances.
“We have to undercut (face value) or they will just walk right by to the box office,” said my scalper friend. “You have to buy cheaper, sell cheaper.
“It’s OK. We’re getting by.”
Inside, the near-capacity crowd was into it, serving up huge pregame ovations for their favourite players, among them Craig Anderson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Kyle Turris, Bobby Ryan and Mark Stone. The biggest noise was reserved for a guy not even in the starting lineup — captain Erik Karlsson, expected to make his return to action as early as early as Saturday. Karlsson, still recovering from ankle tendon surgery, skated out stylishly but carefully, high-fiving teammates and the youth skaters on the ice.
When the ceremonies gave way to pucks and motion, Ottawa defenceman Chris Wideman got fans into the game with an early goal. It’s the first of what the Senators hope will be many stick-raising occasions in yet another season of having to prove their worth among the top eight of the Eastern Conference.
A closeup of the a helmet decal worn by the Ottawa Senators to pay tribute to Bryan Murray.
The night had its poignant moments, with pauses to commemorate the fallen victims in the Las Vegas shooting and the loss of beloved general manager Bryan Murray of nearby Shawville, who passed away in August. In the second period, a montage of Murray behind the Senators’ bench drew a standing ovation.
This marked the first regular season or playoff game without Murray on Ottawa’s staff since the lockout of 2004-05, a 12-year span that covers roughly half the life of the franchise. His image was shown on the scoreboard screen and his presence was felt. We swear we could heard him screaming about a non-call in the second period, from his new perch from above.
For the 2017-18 season, Senators players will wear a commemorative BM patch on their helmets. The patch reads: family man, friend, coach and mentor.
wscanlan@postmedia.com
twitter/@hockeyscanner
查看原文...
There were no Kanata driving complaints then, except for the folks from Kanata who made the trek down to the Civic Centre in the Glebe to witness hockey history.
The old rink was full to bursting, but then it only took 10,500 people to fill the place. It was so long ago, Brian Mulroney was Canada’s prime minister and his wife, Mila, was getting the rock star treatment sitting in the crowd among all the newly anointed Senators fans.
By the occasion of Thursday’s 25th season opener of the Senators, a lot of water had flowed under the Bank Street Bridge, more than ever passed through the old “Carp River,” which once nearly kept the Ottawa franchise from happening, had that old dried up ditch been proven to be a “navigable waterway.”
Twenty five years after the Miracle On Bank Street – a 5-3 win over the Habs in the first game in Ottawa’s modern-day history – Senators players had to be wondering what they had to do to earn a sellout around here — having carried the community to a thrilling three-round playoff ride last spring.
And scalpers were wondering how they were supposed to send their children to college.
“Come see me on Oct. 21,” said a ticket mover outside the Red Zone of Gate 1 pregame, as the sun was setting beyond the Canadian Tire Centre.
Oct. 21?
“The Leafs are here. And it’s a Saturday night. Then we’re talking money!”
He laughs, knowing how it works at the CTC. Maple Leafs fans can’t find or can’t afford tickets to see their team in Toronto, so they pack the rink in Kanata. Many in the National Capital Region grew up as Leafs or Habs fans before the Senators came on the scene. Some Senators fans give up seats to these games to avoid the annoyance of all that blue-and-white personage.
With the Washington Capitals in town for Thursday’s opener, the building was slightly less than full, despite the drastic measure of placing tarp on about 1,500 seats in the 300 level. The new capacity is about 17,000.
An hour before game time, a few hundred seats remained, some for as little as $34 at the box office. Stubhub was offering third-level seats at $20 U.S. Resellers have to recalculate in these circumstances.
“We have to undercut (face value) or they will just walk right by to the box office,” said my scalper friend. “You have to buy cheaper, sell cheaper.
“It’s OK. We’re getting by.”
Inside, the near-capacity crowd was into it, serving up huge pregame ovations for their favourite players, among them Craig Anderson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Kyle Turris, Bobby Ryan and Mark Stone. The biggest noise was reserved for a guy not even in the starting lineup — captain Erik Karlsson, expected to make his return to action as early as early as Saturday. Karlsson, still recovering from ankle tendon surgery, skated out stylishly but carefully, high-fiving teammates and the youth skaters on the ice.
When the ceremonies gave way to pucks and motion, Ottawa defenceman Chris Wideman got fans into the game with an early goal. It’s the first of what the Senators hope will be many stick-raising occasions in yet another season of having to prove their worth among the top eight of the Eastern Conference.
A closeup of the a helmet decal worn by the Ottawa Senators to pay tribute to Bryan Murray.
The night had its poignant moments, with pauses to commemorate the fallen victims in the Las Vegas shooting and the loss of beloved general manager Bryan Murray of nearby Shawville, who passed away in August. In the second period, a montage of Murray behind the Senators’ bench drew a standing ovation.
This marked the first regular season or playoff game without Murray on Ottawa’s staff since the lockout of 2004-05, a 12-year span that covers roughly half the life of the franchise. His image was shown on the scoreboard screen and his presence was felt. We swear we could heard him screaming about a non-call in the second period, from his new perch from above.
For the 2017-18 season, Senators players will wear a commemorative BM patch on their helmets. The patch reads: family man, friend, coach and mentor.
wscanlan@postmedia.com
twitter/@hockeyscanner
查看原文...
