Don’t Tell Golden Knights Fans It’s Only A Preseason Game

By Alan Snel

LVSportsBiz.com

Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell

 

Alyce Wheeler compared it to Christmas, New Year’s and a gooey chocolate chip cookie all rolled up in one.

The Vegas Golden Knights fan was describing what it felt like to walk through the doors of T-Mobile Arena at 12 noon Sunday for the preseason opener between the Golden Knights and the Arizona Coyotes.

Don’t tell Las Vegas it’s only a preseason game.

It was a longer than expected summer after the Knights bowed out in painful and bizarre manner to the San Jose Sharks in Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs’ first round after VGK coughed up a 3-1 games lead in the series in April. Wheeler, the fan, talked about what it meant to be back in the Big Ice House by the Strip.

Fans have forged friendships through several large fan clubs like the Golden Misfits. They include Derek Caldwell, who showed up in a gold jacket for the preseason match and put it simply about what it has meant to create bonds with people he otherwise would not have met if not for the VGK.

“It’s a blessing,” Caldwell told LVSportsBiz.com. You can see the rest of the interview here:

Sunday’s attendance was announced at 17,767, which is 400 more than capacity of 17,367 at T-Mobile Arena. The Knights took the preseason opener against the Coyotes, 6-2. Winger Max Pacioretty, who scored a hat trick, discussed how crazy the VGK fans are during this postgame interview.

VGK coach Gerard Gallant was impressed with the arena atmosphere for an exhibition game.

 

And it’s not a Golden Knights game without The Wolverine — superfan Jason Griego.

 

The Knights are known for raising the bar for its arena atmosphere in the NHL, breaking out a new pregame video with Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water serving as the soundtrack for the vid. Let’s take a look.

The Golden Knights preseason game kick-started a busy Sunday afternoon for the sports industry in Las Vegas. Only two miles to the east, the WNBA Las Vegas Aces defeated  the Chicago Fire in a wild finish at Thomas & Mack Center at a 2 p.m. game. And the Big Boys of NASCAR went racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the South Point 400 in late afternoon.

Plus, Las Vegas is keeping an eye on the Raiders and their division game with the Kansas City Chiefs at the Coliseum in Oakland. It’s the final season for the Raiders in the Bay area before the Silver & Black move to Las Vegas to christen a $1.9 billion stadium project on the west side of Interstate 15 near the Strip and the Mandalay Bay casino-hotel.

But the Golden Knights fans were focused on hockey, and their allegiance to VGK borders on the faith you see in religion. In this preseason game, VGK winger Max Pacioretty scored a hat trick and the ballcaps came raining down when he notched his third goal late in the second period.

Check out the collection of caps for Pacioretty’s hat trick.

 

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