Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
EDMONTON – Hours before puck drop Monday in the deciding game for the Stanley Cup, Edmonton Oilers fans flooded the streets of Alberta’s capital, while others who traveled to Florida shouted and matched Panthers jersey fans for a jersey.
A few hundred fans gathered outside Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., outside of Miami, for tailgate parties before Game 7.
A rough eyeball count under palm trees put about half in the Oilers camp, half for the Panthers.
At one point, the Edmonton faithful’s chant of “Go Oilers Go” overpowered the local contingent’s cry of “Let’s Go Panthers!”
“It’s crazy,” said Oilers fan Richard Haas, who traveled from Edmonton with his fiancee, Alyssa Dudek.
“I’m looking for Panther shirts in this crowd, which is intimidating to me. I think it shows something about the Edmonton Oilers fan base. Oiler fans are different, 100 percent.”
Dudek added, “It feels like a home game right now. It didn’t feel like it for Game 5, but Edmonton showed up in a big way for Game 7.
“It’s close to a once in a lifetime thing and people have turned up in reeds.”
Oilers fan Mike Reimer took a trip from Edmonton on a red-eye flight after Game 6.
“It’s been a 34-year drought since we won. We were in the Cup final 18 years ago and I’m still bummed about that,” said Reimer, wearing a blue and orange striped Oilers tuxedo shirt.
“I had to be here to see a possible end to that streak.”
The Oilers won their fifth and final Stanley Cup in 1990.
They were hoping Monday to turn back the clock to 1942 – the last and only time an NHL team came back from three games down in the finals to sweep the final four.
In Edmonton – 5,000 kilometers and two time zones away – a wave of fans joyfully flowed through downtown sidewalks, streets and patio bars to the continuous primal edge of car horns.
They came mostly in Oilers shorts and shirts, happily baking in the summer heat amid the drums and random chants, while the police tried to stop some spilling into traffic.
“I have to be here to experience this camaraderie,” said Angelique Bedard, sitting in her wheelchair covered in pompoms and Oilers flags.
“It’s just beyond words.”
About 16,000 showed up to watch the game on a big screen inside the Oilers center home, Rogers Place, with thousands more watching on nearby monster monitors.
With an hour to go before puck drop, police announced that the viewing areas of the plaza were full and residents were urged to stay away.
The watch parties have become an integral part of the Oilers’ two-month runner-up run and created instant celebrities, including Mama Stanley, whose real name is Mary Loewen, dressed head-to-toe in silver to resemble the Cup. If she hasn’t approved fans, she asks for pictures.
In St. Albert, on the outskirts of Edmonton, a nursing home has posted TikTok videos of residents dancing in Oilers jerseys and face paint, garnering tens of thousands of views.
There were other celebrations in pockets across Canada, which has not seen one of its NHL teams lift the Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
“We cheer them on every game of the season,” said Derrick DeMone, an Oilers fan in Sydney, NS
“I haven’t felt like this since I was a young lad, I’ll tell you that.”
DeMone’s home is something of a shrine to his favorite team, with Oilers jerseys, blankets and pillows decorating the interior and several Oilers flags flying outside.
In Saskatchewan, the hometown of Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was set to host a viewing party at the local ice rink.
In Ottawa, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who was born north of Edmonton in Peace River, Alta., said she grew up with the Oilers dynasty that won five Cups between 1984 and 1990.
“I think today the captain of all of Team Canada is (Oilers Captain) Connor McDavid, who’s a great Ontario kid,” Freeland said in Vaughan, Ont.
“And I want him to know that we’re all rooting for him.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on June 24, 2024.
— With files from Rob Drinkwater, and Gregory Strong in Sunrise, Fla.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Chrystia Freeland spoke in Ottawa.
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