My dear friend, Ed Hardin, one of the two greatest sports columnists this burg has ever produced (along with Wilt Browning), figured it out a quarter century ago. “It” was the question of why the Carolina Hurricanes only drew around 5,000 fans a game during their two-year stint in Greensboro. The theories were many, but only Ed’s cut to the heart of the problem. He posited that the reasons were not high ticket prices, not that they were only squatting here while their arena in Raleigh was being built, and not that the Gate City is overwhelmingly a Carolina basketball town (although all three are true). His theory was simply that there are only 5,000 hockey fans here.
Well, brothers and sisters, something has changed in the 21st century. While Matt Brown was working tirelessly yet unsuccessfully to revive hockey in the Coliseum after the Generals folded in 2004, a quiet revolution of sorts was taking place without anyone’s notice. The ’Canes have become a cultural phenomenon in the Triangle; thousands of folks, many of them professionals, have moved here from all over the world; the neighboring Winston-Salem Thunderbirds have managed to support pro hockey; and the NHL has grown and expanded exponentially. All of this amounts to a thirst that could only be quenched by live, professional hockey.
You could see it coming a mile away. At the ownership group’s (Zawyer Sports and Enrertainment) two preseason events — the announcement of the name, Gargoyles, and the launch of the team sweaters and other merch — Piedmont Hall was packed to the gills for both events; the line merely to get in for the first one snaked completely around the parking lot, and for the second one money was still changing hands in the merch line an hour after the event.
All of that should’ve prepared yours truly for opening night, Saturday, Oct. 18. Just to be safe, I got there two hours before puck drop, figuring I would zip into the press lot, walk a few steps to credential pickup, and be in my seat on press row in no time. Welp, the press lot was full, as was the rest of the lot, all the way to Lee Street (or as you newcomers might say, Gate City Blvd.). I finally found one of the last remaining spots, and as I trekked to the press entrance, I passed dozens of tailgaters grilling, eating, drinking, playing hackey sack and cornhole, dancing to that old time rock and roll, and having a raucously good time. One guy, between slugs of Modelo, told me that the lot opened at 2 o’clock. I told the parking lot attendant that this looked more like an ACC men’s basketball tournament, and he agreed.
As game time approached, the low Gargoyle growl grew progressively louder, approaching the dB level of a Who concert, and the lights dimmed, illuminating the thousands of blacklight neon glow sticks. Then the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived, as the teams skated onto the ice amid thunderous screams and applause.
These guys and gals know how to put on a show, hence the “Entertainment” part of Zawyer Sports.
And the crowd proved to be not only enthusiastic but knowledgeable. They knew to cheer when the Gargoyles killed off a penalty; erupt on a good save or grade-A scoring chance; boo when a penalty was called on the home team; stand and holler when a skirmish broke out; and go ballistic when a game-tying goal was waved off, letting the refs know loud and clear that they sucked.
The things that stood out to me were: a) the speed was much faster than I remembered from the old ECHL; b) the stick-handling and passing were, for the most part, flashy and crisp; c) given that they’ve been together only a couple of weeks, the attacks need more cohesion and less dump-and-chase; d) the defense and goaltending, barring a couple of lapses, seemed adequate, and: e) there were no fights. There were three pushing and shoving matches, but nary a glove dropped.
The first period was scoreless, the visiting Jacksonville Icemen scored in the second, and coach Scott Burt pulled the goalie with two minutes to go in the third, and winger David Gagnon scored a minute later. Now, I’ve been to countless games in this building, but I swear I don’t think I’ve ever heard a louder and more prolonged cheer than when he scored the tying goal. I can only imagine if it had been the game-winner but, alas, the visitors scored in the three-on-three overtime, handing the Gargoyles a 2-1 overtime loss, worth one point.
Afterward, Coach Burt seemed pleased with the outcome, even with the OTL.
“These were building blocks, and we’ll grow and learn from it,” he said. “This was our first time as a team, and overall, I’m proud of the way they played, especially their resiliency. After we got down a goal, they kept putting up shots; we had 40 and eight grade-A’s. We didn’t break. When we tied it up, I think that got them over the hump.”
Oh, did I mention, the official attendance was 11,398. So where did that extra 6,398 come from?
The Gargoyles came down to earth a bit on Sunday, losing to these same Icemen, 3-0. They return home Thursday, Nov. 6-8, for a three-game set against the Wheeling Nailers. All game times are 7 p.m.
The ECHL is considered a “Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League.” The Gargoyles are an affiliate of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and AHL’s Chicago Wolves.