I’m an ice hockey fan. I would be useless at actually playing it, particularly because slippery surfaces are really not my friend! But I do love the speed and excitement of watching a game. I’ve been to see a few games in the UK and they are so much fun! Fast-paced, action packed and, if you’re lucky, you might see a bit of a brawl followed by someone being sent to the sin bin. It’s such a fun night out! But it’s not a big sport here and ever since my local(ish) team had their rink demolished my nearest team is well over an hour away. I will still go when I can but I have since taken to watching the National Hockey League games on Premier Sports.
The National Hockey League (NHL) is based in the US and Canada with 25 American teams and 7 Canadian. It is a major professional sport in North America and probably the best professional ice hockey league in the world. Hockey season generally lasts around 10 months and is made up of preseason games (September – early October), regular games (October – early/mid-April) and postseason games (April – June). In the regular season, every team plays 82 games and the winner is presented with the Presidents’ Trophy. The postseason is an elimination tournament where the victorious team wins the Stanley Cup. Winning the Presidents’ Trophy is good, but the Stanley Cup is the holy grail in the NHL.
Ever since I started watching NHL games, I have wanted to go to one. I thought the theatre that would be put into it plus the money that sits behind the sport would make it a completely different experience to watching a game in the UK. I’d only ever really been to The States in summer which is the only part of the year that’s out of season so when we arranged a trip to New York for April 2022, an NHL game was top of the list of things to do.
New York has two NHL teams: the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers. The New York Islanders are based in Elmont, Long Island which is commutable from Manhattan but it does take about 2 hours on public transport. The New York Rangers are based on Manhattan Island, their home being the iconic Madison Square Garden, so that’s much more accessible when visiting the city.
When we went to New York, games were usually played on Sunday and Wednesday nights so we went for a Sunday night because that best fit in with our trip. We bought our tickets on Ticketmaster (US site) a couple of months before we went and we found most tickets were resold from people with season tickets. We paid $172 (£128) each for tickets including all fees. We picked seats quite far back and in the middle of one side of the rink. A top tip for watching ice hockey: it’s FAST! So being able to see the whole rink easily is really key. Being too close to the rink means you won’t be able to see a lot of what’s happening. It was definitely one of the more pricy things we did in New York but we were willing to take the risk and, let me tell you, it was worth it!
We got to Madison Square Garden (a 10 minute walk from our hotel) and we were instantly in awe of the venue. It’s huge and so professional. We went through security and made our way to our seats. Our seats were up high so we took the escalator up and could hear the crowd warming up for the game. Excitement in the air was buzzing against a backdrop of music. It was already such an atmosphere and it hadn’t even started yet. We got to our seats and we were very surprised at how good the view was. Even though we paid a lot for the tickets, other tickets cost a lot more so we weren’t expecting a great view but we felt very spoilt. We had come to see the New York Rangers v. The Philadelphia Flyers – both good teams so we were hoping for a great game.
There were vendors walking around selling snacks so we got some popcorn. For a box the size of a medium popcorn at the cinema, it was $9! It wasn’t even nice popcorn; it was so salty! We forced ourselves to eat half of it but then left the rest.
The seats were filling up and it was almost time for the game to start. A carpet rolled out in one corner of the rink and the lights dimmed slightly. A voice came over the speaker system and asked everyone to be upstanding for the national anthem. It was sung by The New York Synagogue Choir and it was stunning. Madison Square Garden is, of course, used for concerts as well as sports so it’s no wonder the acoustics are as good as they are. But the way the choir performed and sounded was incredible. I would say it’s one of the best vocal performances I’ve ever heard live.
Once the choir had finished the national anthem, the Garden erupted with cheers and applause. The atmosphere was excitable; I could feel the floor pounding with anticipation. The choir left and the lights dimmed a bit more. The logo for each team was projected onto the ice for a moment and then disappeared. The screen in the middle (jumbotron) started a countdown from 10. Loud ticking came over the speakers only building the excitement higher. When the countdown hit zero, the lights flashed and then went out completely. Two shields were projected onto the ice as the Jumbotron played footage of the Rangers and the referees skated onto the rink. The lights went up as the Rangers skated out to a huge explosion of cheers. They skated around their half of the rink, warming up, and then the Flyers skated out to some antagonising from the crowd. They warmed up, too, and then most of the players took their places on their team benches with the starting six from each team getting into faceoff position. This was it: the game was about to begin.
The head referee made his way to the centre of the rink where the teams were waiting for him. He stood between the two centre players and dropped the puck. And they were off! I thought games I had seen in the UK were fast – they were nothing compared to this! It took a few minutes for me to train my eyes and brain to be able to follow the puck! I had just about got there in time to see the Flyers score their first goal right before the 6 minute mark. As we were in New York and sitting firmly in the middle of the Rangers’ supporters – we were routing for the home team. The goal cut through the fans – the devastation was real. And it was not made any better when the Flyers scored again under a minute later. The thousands of us in our stand were gutted. All except one guy sat directly in front of us. He was trying not to react to the goals, and I could see, where the collar of his navy blue jumper had moved, the flash of a vibrant orange jersey. There was a Flyers supporter in our midst! We kept his secret and it was fun watching him watch the game with the rival’s fans.
The first period finished with the teams playing pretty evenly: the Rangers tried to even out the scoreboard and the Flyers successfully held their 2 goal lead. The second period was filled with drama and speed but no goals. By the time the final period started, tensions on the ice were getting fraught. The puck dropped and the Flyers made it a 3 goal lead in the 44th second. It was looking bleak for the Rangers. The secret Flyers fan was looking quietly smug while the Rangers’ fans were refereeing from their seats. The whole stand shook like an earthquake when the Rangers scored under a minute later. The whole crowd were on their feet celebrating and singing. The secret Flyers fan had stood up to fit in with the crowd but didn’t look too happy.
The period went on and, as it did, the excitement of the goal dwindled. There were 5 minutes left of the game and the Flyers were winning 3-1. For a lot of Rangers fans, hope had gone. They were leaving the Garden pretty rapidly. About a third of the fans had left by the time the Rangers scored a second goal with 4 and a half minutes left of the game! Could they claw this back? Twelve seconds later the Rangers scored again, equalising! It was all to play for now with just over 4 minutes left! A tense 4 minutes that was very evenly played. No more goals which meant it went to a shootout.
Three shots each. The Flyers shot and missed. So did the Rangers. The Flyers shot again and missed! So did the Rangers. It couldn’t have been more tense. The whole crowd were on their feet, holding onto one another, not making a single noise. Someone had to win this game. The secret Flyers fan was looking stressed. I was worried he might stop breathing. They were leading 3-0 – how did it get to this?
The Flyers player stepped up. He shot. He scored! Huge cheers from the away stand! The secret Flyers fan stifled his celebration but looked on nervously. The last Rangers player took aim. He shot. And he missed! The Philadelphia Flyers won 4-3! The fans were devastated. The secret Flyers fan couldn’t contain his smile. His cover was blown but his team had won! As we filed out of Madison Square Garden the air was still electric. What a game. A great night out full of drama, speed, twists and turns.
We were so glad we went. It was a real bucket list thing for us and it exceeded all expectations. We will go to an NHL game again whenever we get the chance to now. I 100% recommend it. I don’t even think you need to be a big hockey fan or know too much about it. It’s just a really good night out!
What You Need to Know:
Where to get tickets: The link on the venue’s website
Price: About £130 / $175
How long is a game: about 3 hoursish
Tips:
Wear layers. The rink has quite a thick layer of ice on it and they need to keep it frozen with around 16k people in the room. They pump the A/C out cold!
Research the local team. It’s worth seeing which team is local to where you’re going. If it’s Manhattan then it’s the Rangers, but if you’re going somewhere else in the US then there will be a different team. Research which team has a home closest to where you’re staying and buy tickets through their home venue’s website.
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