Carolina was hoping for a hurricane to storm through Raleigh this h oliday season.
Friday night, the ‘Canes left the RBC Center with their wish granted. After playing 63 minutes of solid hockey, their two-day break to reflect on their 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators will be a well-deserved one because of the positive momentum from their first overtime win this season.
The Hurricanes, who are last in the East Conference (10-19-6), met with the Senators, who are seventh (17-14-4), for the third time out of four meetings this season. The first meeting with Ottawa was the first College Night game where the ‘Canes lost in overtime.
Carolina is 0-3 in the College Night series but this time the ‘Canes won in overtime with a goal by forward Tuomo Ruutu .
“We haven’t been too successful in overtimes, so sometimes you have to go to 65 minutes and that’s what we did tonight,” Ruutu said. “We need to build on this. We have to keep going and remember how hard we worked tonight.”
Defenseman Jay Harrison took a few blocks to hold the Senators at one goal during the energy-filled game and is just one of the many ‘Canes who will be enjoying his Christmas break.
“It’s always nice to go into a break when you have a bit of time to reflect on a win; it’s a momentum thing and all sports are like that,” Harrison said. “So we’re going to take two days to rest and reflect, which will make us hungry to come back to play again and do it all over again. It’s a really good feeling right now.”
In the ‘Canes College Night series special “Home for the Holidays,” college students had the opportunity to witness the Hurricanes’ first win in the 6-game series, not including this game.
While some college students were home for the holidays, others like sophomore in sports management Tyler Kolbenschlag , stayed in Raleigh with his family and had this opportunity.
“I’ve been to games before with friends through the College Night promotions, but this time I had family in town,” Kolbenschlag said. “It was really nice to have eight members of my family, including me, to come experience the game, and for cheaper prices than regular games.”
The usual promotion was held with $15 upper-level seats and $30 lower-level tickets starting on Dec. 2. But the special “Home for the Holidays” game had an extra promotional value. Starting at 5 p.m. Friday night, single seat tickets were sold for $25 at the RBC’s Time Warner Cable Box office – and these single seat offers were $25 no matter how close to the ice.
Tickets are on sale now for the fourth College Night game against the New York Islanders on Jan. 31. Tickets are sold online at carolinahurricanes.com/college.
