17°c Partly cloudy
12°c Cloudy with showers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Record numbers at NHL rinks and in ratings following lockout
Alex Brandon / the associated press Fans have flocked back to NHL rinks, including another sellout crowd in Washington Tuesday night for the Caps and the Jets. (CP)
Related Items
The boycotts were threatened. The irate tweets were posted.
NHL fans were fed up with labour strife updates and they weren't coming back to the sport they loved once the lockout was lifted.
Except that they did. In most homes and arenas, they came in record numbers, unable to stay away for that first faceoff.
The fans partied in Nashville, Tenn., where $1 hot dogs helped woo Predators fans back to Bridgestone Arena.
In Ohio, the Columbus Blue Jackets came on the ice for warmups wearing jerseys numbered 1 with "Thank You Fans" printed where the player's name is. The jerseys were then given to fans.
In Philadelphia, a city that hasn't sniffed a Stanley Cup parade since 1975, a record 19,994 fans showed up for the season opener against Pittsburgh. That came on the heels of more than 2,000 fans at their practice facility for the first day of training camp and another 15,000 showed up for a free, open practice at the Wells Fargo Center.
Across the state in Pittsburgh, Consol Energy Center was packed during a free intrasquad exhibition last week, with a couple of thousand fans turned away at the door. Just to make sure the fans will stay satiated -- as if watching Sidney Crosby isn't enough -- the Penguins are giving those in attendance during the first four home games vouchers for free food and dropping prices on team merchandise by 50 per cent.
Yes, there's a good deal to be found in the NHL, and it's not just the collective bargaining agreement. It's slashed prices and freebies all offered to hockey-starved fans as a way of saying thanks for sticking by the sport over the 113-day lockout.
Crosby, the league's most famous player, wasn't surprised at how fans stuffed arenas around the NHL.
"I think it's great to see that we're still getting the turnout that we're getting," he said.
Can't get a ticket? No worries. There's always the comfort of watching on the big screen TV. While the NHL will never attract the oversized ratings of the NFL or other marquee sports, the numbers from the first few days of action show fans will plop down on the sofa and watch on high definition just as much as from high in the upper deck.
NBC's broadcast Saturday earned the league's most-watched game for a non-Winter Classic in 14 years. It was regional coverage of the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Stanley Cup-champion Los Angeles Kings, 5-2, and Pittsburgh's 3-1 victory over Philadelphia. All told, 2.77 million viewers tuned in.
Eight markets set local ratings records or milestones for regular-season coverage -- not counting Winter Classics -- that aired either on NBC or NBC Sports Network from Saturday to Tuesday.
"It's good to talk about something else besides the lockout and actually talk about the game," Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. "It's obviously a pretty good feeling out there having the fans. They are unbelievable."
-- The Associated Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 24, 2013 D2
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 46 articles for today)
Selinger talks tax at NDP convention in Brandon
7:45 PM 0
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Crash claims two young women, RCMP say
- Woman drove into river on purpose
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- 'I told them, "I think that guy downstairs is dead"': teen witness at murder trial
- Bridge collapse survivor who fell in river: 'You hold on as tight as you can'
- Katz knew golf plan doomed 'months ago'
- Rare comic book featuring debut of Superman found insulating abandoned house in Minnesota
- City's first urban reserve born
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Crash claims two young women, RCMP say
- Winnipeg woman camps out in front of legislature to protest child welfare
- 2 dead in crash near Portage la Prairie
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Two men now facing first-degree murder charges in Tim Bosma test drive death
- Rainfall warning issued for southern Manitoba
- Flood money paid for CEO's romantic trip
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Catching up with Arrested Development's Bluth family
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Lake St. Martin reserve close to getting new home
- 'I told them, "I think that guy downstairs is dead"': teen witness at murder trial
- Toews 'disappointed' U.S., Canada at loggerheads over meat labeling regulations
- Jockey club launches $350-M civil suit against province
- Decades-old smoke bomb found behind Crescentwood home
- New owner for lumber stores
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- First Nation celebrates groundbreaking on city's first urban reserve
- Skin picking gets status as distinct disorder, should help sufferers access help
- Order of Manitoba recipients announced
- New owner for lumber stores
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.