Tag: NHL Western Conference

Infamous crowds to play large role in a pair of Game 3’s

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seaofredTwo Canadian teams. Two different series. Two well-known, hockey-crazed crowds. With their teams on the verge of falling into that uncomfortable spot between a rock and a hard place, the fans in Montreal and Calgary know exactly what their role will be in each team’s Game 3 tonight: the all-important “sixth man.”

There is no doubt that the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames each have a diehard following — the Canadiens, being of the original six, have a long history in the sport and have generations of fans to support them. The Flames, while being a younger team than the Habs, have become known for their fan support and the infamous “C” of Red, the name given to the awe-inspiring sight of the entire Pengrowth Saddledome filled with fans clad in red. Both teams are currently stuck in a 2-0 deficit in their respective series, with little to be happy about in their struggling performances. However, coming back home may carry the momentum of the series in their favor thanks to the noise and support of their fans.

“This building is loud, and it can definitely shift the momentum,” says Calgary forward, David Moss. “This city is waiting for a win. Hopefully, by doing that tonight, we can kind of spark this thing, get everyone behind us, and start rolling.”

While not known for it’s visually stunning fan support, the Canadiens are home to a large stadium that never ceases to sell-out, the stands brimming with Habs fans dressed in their red, white and blue. The noise generated from the crowd following each big hit, poor call, or highlight-reel goal can be intimidating for the opposition, and tonight in both the Bell Center and the Penngrowth Saddledome, it will be the “sixth man” watching the game that will make or break these two Canadian teams’ chances of righting their wrongs from the first two games.

Infamous crowds to play large role in a pair of Game 3's

admin

seaofredTwo Canadian teams. Two different series. Two well-known, hockey-crazed crowds. With their teams on the verge of falling into that uncomfortable spot between a rock and a hard place, the fans in Montreal and Calgary know exactly what their role will be in each team’s Game 3 tonight: the all-important “sixth man.”
There is no doubt that the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames each have a diehard following — the Canadiens, being of the original six, have a long history in the sport and have generations of fans to support them. The Flames, while being a younger team than the Habs, have become known for their fan support and the infamous “C” of Red, the name given to the awe-inspiring sight of the entire Pengrowth Saddledome filled with fans clad in red. Both teams are currently stuck in a 2-0 deficit in their respective series, with little to be happy about in their struggling performances. However, coming back home may carry the momentum of the series in their favor thanks to the noise and support of their fans.
“This building is loud, and it can definitely shift the momentum,” says Calgary forward, David Moss. “This city is waiting for a win. Hopefully, by doing that tonight, we can kind of spark this thing, get everyone behind us, and start rolling.”
While not known for it’s visually stunning fan support, the Canadiens are home to a large stadium that never ceases to sell-out, the stands brimming with Habs fans dressed in their red, white and blue. The noise generated from the crowd following each big hit, poor call, or highlight-reel goal can be intimidating for the opposition, and tonight in both the Bell Center and the Penngrowth Saddledome, it will be the “sixth man” watching the game that will make or break these two Canadian teams’ chances of righting their wrongs from the first two games.

Pins drop in Scottrade Center as Canucks silence the Blues

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canucks_game_3
The crowd was electric as the puck dropped in St.Louis last night as the Blues hosted the Canucks for game three of their playoff series. This was the first game of the series to be played in St.Louis, and as such, the fans would play a pivotal role as the “sixth man” throughout the game. They made their presence known early in the game when the Blues scored just over three minutes into the game with a goal from David Backes, and continued the noise as the Canucks entered the revolving door to the penalty box, offering up a 5 on 3 opportunity to St.Louis halfway through the first.
Despite the opportunities, the Blues failed to capitalize on the two-man advantage as well as a handful of powerplays, an odd occurrence seeing as their regular season powerplay success against the Canucks was at a strong 26%. This led to a swing of momentum in favor of the Canucks in the second period when they scored back to back goals within four minutes of each other, beginning at the 8 minute mark. The cheers turned to whimpers for a brief 5 minute run before Andy McDonald tied it up at 2, reinvigorating the struggling Blues and their nail-biting fans. But with the struggling St.Louis power play, it is hard to hold the fans accountable for the lack of noise in the Scottrade Center, as the supposed 8th best power play team in the league went 1 for 17 in the series at the end of game 3.
This isn’t to say that special teams weren’t a factor in the game in St.Louis; the Canucks, after taking the lead 3-2 at 1:41 in the 3rd period, proved their success with the man advantage, having scored all three of their goals on the power play last night. With the Blues’ failure of conversion on the PP and their Swiss Cheese defence on the Penalty Kill, the stadium fell silent as the Canucks extended their lead in the series 3-0, just one win away from sweeping the series. If the Canucks can maintain the level of play they have shown St.Louis thus far, the only sound you will hear coming out of the Scottrade Center on Tuesday night will be the fans singing the Blues.
For more on last night’s game check out the Canuck’s Game Summary and Highlights.

Canucks ticket availabilty doesn't reflect team's support

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Coming off a well-earned 2-1 win against St.Louis in the opening game of the series on Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks aim to claim yet another win tonight as the Blues return for game two. But should the team and their supportive fans be worried about the over-abundance of available Canucks tickets?
Being one of the hottest teams coming out of the second half of the regular season, and the Northwest Division Champions, the Canucks should be expected to sell out GM Place, resulting in a hot market for season ticket-holders who decide to resell and last minute ticket buyers. However, because of the inflation of post-season ticket prices — a 40% increase over regular season tickets for the first round, and a possible 200% increase for the Cup finals — there just isn’t that much of a demand for tickets, especially in this economy.
As a result, the market is flooded with sellers over buyers, ten to one, meaning resellers are able to sell their tickets before the venue can even sell out — a result many fans noticed during the first game against the Blues where a number of lower bowl seats were left empty throughout the game, white towels draped over them. This is the time for fans to take advantage of the situation and watch the market closely in order to score great tickets for a cheaper price than they normally would. Hopefully tonight there will be enough fans in attendance to give the Canucks the support they need as they take on the Blues in game two, aiming to extend their series lead to two.

Canucks ticket availabilty doesn’t reflect team’s support

admin

Coming off a well-earned 2-1 win against St.Louis in the opening game of the series on Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks aim to claim yet another win tonight as the Blues return for game two. But should the team and their supportive fans be worried about the over-abundance of available Canucks tickets?

Being one of the hottest teams coming out of the second half of the regular season, and the Northwest Division Champions, the Canucks should be expected to sell out GM Place, resulting in a hot market for season ticket-holders who decide to resell and last minute ticket buyers. However, because of the inflation of post-season ticket prices — a 40% increase over regular season tickets for the first round, and a possible 200% increase for the Cup finals — there just isn’t that much of a demand for tickets, especially in this economy.

As a result, the market is flooded with sellers over buyers, ten to one, meaning resellers are able to sell their tickets before the venue can even sell out — a result many fans noticed during the first game against the Blues where a number of lower bowl seats were left empty throughout the game, white towels draped over them. This is the time for fans to take advantage of the situation and watch the market closely in order to score great tickets for a cheaper price than they normally would. Hopefully tonight there will be enough fans in attendance to give the Canucks the support they need as they take on the Blues in game two, aiming to extend their series lead to two.

Flames can’t defy regular season record with Blackhawks

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Although they were matched in overall wins in the regular season, the Blackhwaks are the one team that the Calgary Flames would have wanted to avoid in the post-season. Chicago dominated Calgary in the regular season series, posting a record of 4-0-0 and outscoring the Flames 19 to 7. With statistics like these, fans were expecting a much different performance by the Blackhawks than they displayed last night in game one at the United Center in Chicago.

From the moment the puck dropped, Calgary played a physical game to establish their presence and stir up the inexperienced Blackhawks — only ten of their players have playoff experience, and their lack of confidence showed early on in the game. However, Calgary’s level of play was matched by Chicago later in the second; after tying the game at one in the middle frame, then again falling behind in the third, Chicago’s stand-out player of the night, Martin Havlat, evened the game with 5:33 to go in the game after scoring off his own rebound.

With the game unsettled after 60 minutes, the two teams went into overtime expecting a hard-hitting battle for the win that, if the previous periods had shown, would be a long and even-matched series of periods. However, once again Havlat shined for the Blackhawks and scored only 12 seconds into the extra period on a controversial goal that saw Chicago’s Andrew Ladd accidentally-on-purpose interfere with Mikka Kiprusoff. Havlat’s performance landed him the first star of the night. When these two teams meet again on Saturday, Calgary will no doubt up their already high level of play to return the favor to the Blackhawks, aiming to tie the series at one a piece.