FORT LAUDERDALE — The Panthers are the most successful team in South Florida right now, winning the franchise’s first two Stanley Cup championships in the past two seasons. The Hurricanes football team, ranked second in the nation, is trying to reach that level of success after a championship drought of more than two decades.
On Saturday, their worlds collided.
Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk was the celebrity guest picker when the Hurricanes hosted ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday morning, and he and his teammates showed up and were honored during Miami’s win over Florida on Saturday night.
“It was awesome,” Panthers center Anton Lundell said. “It was my first college game. Won’t be the last one.”
Lundell, a Finland native, said he liked the uniquely American environment at a college football game. He said being a Hurricanes fan came naturally to him, and he has a few Miami shirts.
“I got surprised how big college football is here,” Lundell said. “I knew it’s big, but seeing it, you really respect it even more. I’m happy to have something that cool down here. And we love to support our teams in the area. And I really hope they have a good year.”
Florida defenseman Seth Jones is more familiar with college football, having grown up in Texas.
“That was a pretty cool experience at that game, and they came out with a big win,” Jones said. “Got scary at the end.”
Florida coach Paul Maurice said he has not met UM coach Mario Cristobal, but he said it is good that the two teams can be involved in the South Florida sports scenes.
“It’s important that we’re a part of the community, but it’s real,” Maurice said. “It wasn’t a marketing plan by the Florida Panthers. Chucky was going, so a whole bunch of guys wanted to the game, so they all went.”
There is a mutual respect between the organizations, and Cristobal, who has watched the Panthers in person, praised the Panthers for their physical play on WQAM’s “The Joe Rose Show” on Monday morning.
“I’m dying to get to one of their practices,” Cristobal said. “Those guys are just stone-cold killers on the ice. The way they bring physicality. I went and watched them play. The amount of bodies they just smash up against the glass, I love watching them play. So I look forward to — maybe whether it’s free time; I don’t know when that is — but getting with them and just tapping into their mentality and their psychology, because they are awesome to watch.”