RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014\u00a0The Carolina Hurricanes are making another deep playoff push in the Stanley Cup championship. The excitement isn\u2019t just building inside the arena \u2014 it\u2019s spilling into nearby small businesses.<\/p>\n
One custom jersey maker is trying to keep up with demand.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Matt Goldman says he\u2019s been receiving new order requests every day for custom hockey jerseys since the NHL playoffs started
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Goldman says orders increase any time there are big hockey events\u00a0
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Goldman says what makes his jersey customization unique is that he uses the same color fabric the Hurricanes use for their official jerseys<\/p>\n
\u201cI typically do about 300 jerseys a year. So right now I’m sitting at around a 6- to 8-month backlog of work,\u201d said Matt Goldman, owner of\u00a0Liberty Bell Jerseys<\/a>.<\/p>\n Goldman says he\u2019s been receiving new order requests every day for custom hockey jerseys since the NHL playoffs started.<\/p>\n \u201cLots and lots of Hurricanes stuff. The new away jerseys I’ve done some modifications to, and I’ve done some quirky, quirky things to it that people have really liked,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He got into making custom jerseys as a hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic. It\u2019s now turned into a lucrative side business, outside of his nine to five as an engineer.<\/p>\n \u201cEnjoyable \u2014 it’s fun \u2014 so I like this part. I love making the kits. I like seeing all the letters come together,” Goldman said. “I like seeing people get, you know, good-quality jersey customization.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He\u2019s currently making letter and number kits for new orders he\u2019s received to place on jerseys that take a couple of hours to make, but a whole jersey he can get out to a customer in a week.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hurricanes kit has a lot of curves, so it does take a little bit longer because you got to be precise with the curves. Whereas something like a Toronto kit is all straight lines, so it goes a little faster,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Goldman\u2019s love for the Hurricanes started with one player.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I grew up a Flyers fan, and I grew up watching Rod Brind’Amour in Philly,” he said. “So I moved here about 20 years ago, and when I moved here, it was the Stanley Cup run year. And we’re like, Rod Brind’Amour is on the team.”<\/p>\n Carolina, led by\u00a0Brind’Amour, won the Stanley Cup in 2006<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Of course we’re going to root for the Hurricanes,\u201d Goldman said.<\/p>\n The Hurricanes on Saturday night beat the Flyers<\/a> to complete their second series sweep of these playoffs and advance to the Eastern Conference finals<\/a>, where they will face the Montreal-Buffalo winner.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Goldman sees Carolina going all the way.<\/p>\n \u201cThey looked fantastic against the Flyers. They really came out swinging,” he said. “You know, whoever comes out of Buffalo and Montreal, I think they’re going to have, I think it’ll be fine. I’m not going to say they’re going to, like, destroy them or anything, but I think they’re going to have, I think it’ll be Hurricanes coming out of the East.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Goldman says what makes his jersey customization unique is that he uses the same color fabric the Hurricanes use for their official jerseys.<\/p>\n Follow us on Instagram at\u00a0spectrumnews1nc<\/a>\u00a0for news and other happenings across North Carolina.<\/p>\n