How many pro hockey games have you been to?

[mead107]

Have only gone to 2. 
both sabers games first was in 20017 (home game) tickets from our kids as a retirement gift. 

one in 2018 also a home game.with Flutie flakes and his son. 
sat in Promo’s seats. Up behind the goal. 
enjoyed both.  

[Ann]

Tons. My parents had Sabres season tickets from when they were an expansion team (1970) for I don’t even know how many years.  

[Billsandhorns]

I've never been to an NHL game. I have been to some minor league hockey games. 

[B-Man]

 

I have only been to three Sabres games.

 

 

[Alaska Darin]

It's gotta be close to 1000 by now, starting with the Amerks as a kid.  Sabres, Sharks, Alaska Aces (WCHL/ECHL), and Blues.  One of the things I wanna do when I retire is spend a season or two just going to see a game in every NHL city.

[Taro T]

At least 500, probably over 1,000.  Have had seasons since moving back to NYS back in the '90's.

[KD in CA]

Maybe a dozen.  Years ago I used to meet my Dad at MSG when the Sabres were in town to play the Rangers.  Saw a few AHL games in Bridgeport (Islanders), and have seen a couple Bruins games with my brother.  Some other random minor league games.  And of course my infamous curse in the '06 ECF where I flew down to Raleigh not once, but twice for losses.

 

I find live hockey is great at any level and have been to a lot of good HS games in CT.

[Mahoney]

I've never been to a pro hockey game. It's just not something I follow unless the Sabres make the playoffs. I did; however, enjoy the hell out of an AHL game I attended years back. Those guys went no-holds-barred and put on an amazing show.

[Alaska Darin]

17 minutes ago, Sum Ting Wong said:

I've never been to a pro hockey game. It's just not something I follow unless the Sabres make the playoffs. I did; however, enjoy the hell out of an AHL game I attended years back. Those guys went no-holds-barred and put on an amazing show.

Most of the time minor pro hockey is more entertaining because the players are fighting to stay in the game or move up.  There's just a grittiness to it.  It also used to be the last bastion of "WWE type" hockey stuff because of the geographical rivalries that are generated by teams that play each other a lot because it saves travel costs.

 

I really miss those days.  Everything is just so sterile and corporate now.

[shrader]

On 11/29/2020 at 10:30 AM, Alaska Darin said:

It's gotta be close to 1000 by now, starting with the Amerks as a kid.  Sabres, Sharks, Alaska Aces (WCHL/ECHL), and Blues.  One of the things I wanna do when I retire is spend a season or two just going to see a game in every NHL city.

I love that idea. It’s just a shame that if you ever decide to do it, you’ll miss out on so many classic arenas, unless you’ve been there already. I managed to get to a game in the Joe not too long before they shut it down. It had to have been one of the last low ceiling buildings. That paired with the sea of red banners, it was amazing. 

[Alaska Darin]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

I love that idea. It’s just a shame that if you ever decide to do it, you’ll miss out on so many classic arenas, unless you’ve been there already. I managed to get to a game in the Joe not too long before they shut it down. It had to have been one of the last low ceiling buildings. That paired with the sea of red banners, it was amazing. 

I never got there but I did get to the old Chicago Stadium.

 

My favorite will always be the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.  It's really small and really old but every seat is great and when it's full (capacity is 6415) the place just shakes.  Very old time hockey.

Edited December 1, 2020 by Alaska Darin

[shrader]

19 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

I never got there but I did get to the old Chicago Stadium.

 

My favorite will always be the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.  It's really small and really old but every seat is great and when it's full (capacity is 6415) the place just shakes.  Very old time hockey.

The college arenas are an interesting mix. I’m more familiar with the eastern ones but have made it out to some of the “western” ones. Some are way too big and commercial (BU). Some have that great atmosphere and sound (Northeastern, Maine). And then there’s the smaller older buildings that actually remind me of rinks I played in growing up (Harvard). That place might make for a great atmosphere, but I’ve never been there with a large crowd. 
 

I haven’t made it to some of the mega arenas out there like North Dakota. I know it’s a completely different world out there. 

[Alaska Darin]

Just now, shrader said:

The college arenas are an interesting mix. I’m more familiar with the eastern ones but have made it out to some of the “western” ones. Some are way too big and commercial (BU). Some have that great atmosphere and sound (Northeastern, Maine). And then there’s the smaller older buildings that actually remind me of rinks I played in growing up (Harvard). That place might make for a great atmosphere, but I’ve never been there with a large crowd. 
 

I haven’t made it to some of the mega arenas out there like North Dakota. I know it’s a completely different world out there. 

I went to the arena in Gwinnett, GA in 2006 to see my beloved Alaska Aces win their first ECHL Championship.  Now keep in mind this is essentially AA hockey.  That place is SPECTACULAR.  It's like they took the drawings for a world class NHL arena and just cut them in half.  It seats over 10k and has all the amenities you'd expect in an NHL arena.  Very cool.

 

The one thing it was missing was an overwhelming majority of old time hockey fans but we managed to hold our own while we were winning it all.  😄

[shrader]

Traveling just about as far as humanly possible within this country to follow your ECHL team. Now that’s dedication. 
 

Then again, putting Anchorage in the east coast hockey league seems like a crazy move. Their travel bill had to be horrendous. Did they actually get any home games?

[Alaska Darin]

9 minutes ago, shrader said:

Traveling just about as far as humanly possible within this country to follow your ECHL team. Now that’s dedication. 
 

Then again, putting Anchorage in the east coast hockey league seems like a crazy move. Their travel bill had to be horrendous. Did they actually get any home games?

The old WCHL basically folded but the teams just got absorbed into the ECHL.  The ECHL acronym actually stands for nothing anymore, which is stupid and funny.  So we went with San Diego, Long Beach, Idaho, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Las Vegas.  We played the majority of our schedule against those teams. The rest was filled out by a trip to the east which was generally a 3 game set against one team and an East Coast team coming north for 3. 

 

It was amazing how easy it was to recruit players after they came up for 3 games.  Not too many ECHL level players are rock stars...below is what one of the Kelly Cup coming home celebrations was like.  I could tell stories about those teams forever.

 

 

 

[Alaska Darin]

And just because I love to show off Alaska, here's a video done from the 2014 Championship team.  Our barn looks really great with 6400+ people screaming their heads off.

 

 

[shrader]

Does the college play out of that arena too? That’s where my mind immediately went when you first mentioned it. The WCHL/ECHL completely slipped my mind. 

[Alaska Darin]

50 minutes ago, shrader said:

Does the college play out of that arena too? That’s where my mind immediately went when you first mentioned it. The WCHL/ECHL completely slipped my mind. 

They used to.  The Great Alaska shoot out was also held there back when that was a thing.  I got to sit right behind the Duke bench when they lost in the final seconds to Cincinnati.  It was really interesting to watch Coach K do his thing.  He uses VERY harsh language.  lol

[Chandemonium]

On 11/30/2020 at 6:25 PM, Alaska Darin said:

Most of the time minor pro hockey is more entertaining because the players are fighting to stay in the game or move up.  There's just a grittiness to it.  It also used to be the last bastion of "WWE type" hockey stuff because of the geographical rivalries that are generated by teams that play each other a lot because it saves travel costs.

 

I really miss those days.  Everything is just so sterile and corporate now.

Same can be said for the junior leagues a tier below the major juniors. Add in that in junior we’re talking about 16-20 year olds and there’s a certain recklessness to the game you don’t see at other levels. Those kids put on a hell of a show. 

[Alaska Darin]

2 hours ago, Chandemonium said:

Same can be said for the junior leagues a tier below the major juniors. Add in that in junior we’re talking about 16-20 year olds and there’s a certain recklessness to the game you don’t see at other levels. Those kids put on a hell of a show. 

I haven't been to a single Juniors game but I've watched some on television.   I'd love to live in a city with Canadian Major Junior.  The long term rivalries are something else.  I don't know anything about American Major Junior other than the USHL is the only Major Junior league.