Junior hockey road trips are always a great time, and a great way to meet people. And naturally, the games that are farther from home always seem to have more excitement surrounding them. That was the case in 1991, when I attended games in Seattle and Kennewick, Wash. (Tri-Cities), more than 1,000 miles from my home in Saskatoon.
When the Western Hockey League used the two-division format that was utilized for several years, teams from opposing played each other just once at each arena. Since the league was spread out from Portland, Ore. to Brandon, Man., and the two divisions were separated by the Rocky Mountains, it was always a major trip to play the teams from the other division.
The first game I attended was in Seattle at the Seattle Center Arena. The old building sat just over 4,000 fans, and was filled every night. Among the unique features to Seattle's barn included the nearly square corners. Instead of a rounded radius in the corner, the board came to a very sharp angle, creating some very strange bounces. As a result, the home Thunderbirds had a huge advantage. The boards weren't the T-Birds only advantage, however. The Seattle fans were known as being the rowdiest in the WHL. Like the Buccaneers, the T-Birds played "Rock and Roll Part 2" after goals, and after several college students from the nearby University of Washington had partaken in a couple of malt beverages, the arena seemed to get even louder. It was loud that night, all right, as the Thunderbirds had little trouble with Saskatoon. The final score was something like 10-2 in favor of the home team. I think I tried to block that score out of my mind, so I can't recall the exact score.
A few nights later, we were in Kennewick, home of the Tri-Cities Americans. At that time, the Americans were selling out every game in their new 6,000-plus seat arena that was considered the class of major junior hockey. The Americans fans were as classy as their arena. The Saskatoon fans were met with warm hospitality and pins from the Ams' booster club, and several fans talked with us. For the second straight game, the Blades struggled on the ice, however. Once again, Saskatoon fell behind about 8-0 that night. When the Blades finally scored, a few of our fans held up a sign that said "Blade Power". The only problem was, they held the sign upside down, which brought roars of laughter from the sold-out crowd. When the Saskatoon fans finally realized what they had done, they turned the sign around, which drew one of the largest cheers of the night.
The four American cities in the WHL have always received excellent support. The Portland Winter Hawks consistently draw some of the largest crowds in junior hockey, drawing an average of more than 8,000 fans. The Hawks always brought a lot of fans with them to Saskatoon, and they were among the most creative fans in the league. One year, they brought several signs that were nearly a section in length, and they held up a different sign before each period. Portland's fans were very supportive and very classy at the same time. The Spokane Chiefs also receive excellent support. Playing in the new Spokane Arena, which I have only seen from the outside, they receive sellout crowds of 10,000-plus for many weekend games. Although I've seen many arenas over the past 16 years of watching hockey, very few have been as unique as the Seattle Center Arena was. And the friendly fans in the Tri-Cities Coliseum remind me of the great people I've met in various USHL cities the past two years.
March 6, 1998
By Trevor Grimm
