The NHL season is finally underway.
With college football entering the latter part of the season and college basketball getting underway, it will be a busy winter sports season coming up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tobacco Road is college basketball territory, but heading into January, NHL hockey will be vying for attention from this hotbed of sports fans who are as diverse as they come. Many transplants in the area are warming to what the Carolina Hurricanes are about, even if hockey is not 'their' sport.
Winning the Stanley Cup in 2006 definitely helped solidify the Caniac corps and added a few more while helping the organization to realize how loyal Raleigh sports fans are. The game experience at the RBC Center rivals any in the National Hockey League as the arena, its amenities and how the Hurricanes present the NHL game experience to its fans is one that can be truly be appreciated by old and new fans alike. With the team's AHL affiliate, formerly the Albany River Rats, moving to Charlotte and becoming the upgraded version of the former ECHL Charlotte Checkers, hockey fans in North Carolina now get even more access to high quality pro hockey to follow.
This season one will be a particularly special one as the Carolina Hurricanes are hosting the NHL All-Star game on January 30, 2011. For hockey fans in Raleigh, and there are many here, this will be a great time to see the royalty of hockey come to town. Downtown Raleigh will host All-Star Week activities building up to the game which will take place at the RBC Center, home of the Canes.
For those who have never been to the area, the Triangle area (Raleigh/Durham) comprising 8 counties has a population of approximately 1.7 million people, but does not seem that big or crowded at all in relative terms to other small metropolitan areas. Those who come to town will find lots of activity and good food, and not feel crowded at all. On top of that, be ready to do what most in the NHL may not be used to doing before a hockey game - tailgating. With so few tickets available, if any at all, the common hockey fan who is not a season-ticket holder or does not know the right people, it will be just as good to sit in the parking lot and watch the game on someone's big screen while imbibing on cold libations and pork sandwiches.
Get ready - hockey time in Raleigh is coming!!
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