Holly Wilver figured her time as the Carolina Hurricanes’ national anthem singer would halt as the playoffs started.

She figured the team would bring in someone with more experience, especially considering the stage.

But when the first round started, her boss, Doug Warf, called on Wilver. She expected it would last for only that round.

Wilver, a senior in civil engineering who plans to graduate in December, was then stunned when she was called upon once again after the series-opening victory against Montreal.

“I really thought they would go out and get someone who was a professional singer,” Wilver said. “Our boss was my go-to guy. He called me before every playoff series, then it became a game-to-game basis after that.”

When the Hurricanes’ run continued to the Stanley Cup Finals, Wilver couldn’t believe it when she was given the opportunity of a lifetime — to sing during the finals and in front of millions on national televison.

“He called me and let me know that I was going to be doing it,” Wilver said. “I was ecstatic. I couldn’t believe I was going to have a chance to sing during the finals.”

Even though it was her fourth year as a member of the Storm Squad, it was her first year as the Hurricanes national anthem singer. Since her Game 7 performance in the Edmonton series, Wilver has heard from people that she had not seen in years.

“I’m from Clayton, which is a very small town,” Wilver said. “But, I’ve heard from a lot of people that I grew up with — teachers, people from my daycare, friends, everything. I had 60-some new emails in my N.C. State account after that final game.”

The national anthem singing didn’t start with the Hurricanes. She spent the past couple years singing for some of the Durham Bulls games. Ironically, one of her first games was when the Bulls were playing a team from Canada, the Ottawa Lynx.

“I love [the] Canadian anthem; it’s so pretty,” Wilver said. “I sang it then, all this season and when the Canes played the Oilers. I learned it by listening to the last national anthem singer for the Canes. So, I definitely didn’t have a problem with it. It’s great.”

Shortly after joining the Storm Squad, some members learned about her talent.

Kristen Scates, a 2004 graduate in computer engineering, said she didn’t know Wilver could sing, but when another Storm Squad member mentioned it to her, it became a dare to get her to sing in front of the team.

“To be honest, it was years ago,” Scates said. “I think it was more like a dare because we had heard she could sing and we knew she had performed the anthem before at a Durham Bulls game.”

Wilver didn’t budge. She wouldn’t give in to the dare.

But when the time came, Wilver was ready.

In front of a sold-out crowd in the season-opening home game for Carolina this season against the Pittsburgh Penguins, many of her friends, along with everyone else in the stadium, heard her for the first time.

And she didn’t let anyone down.

“She was amazing,” Scates said. “We all heard by word of mouth that she could sing, but none of us really knew how talented she was.”

With everyone’s eyes on her, Wilver, according to Scates, didn’t show a trace of nervousness.

“If I had to go out in front of an 18,000-plus crowd, I would be a nervous wreck,” Scates said. “But I have never seen her show any sign of being nervous.”

However, Wilver said while on the outside she might appear calm, inside is a completely different story — especially in front of a sold-out crowd.

“I was definitely nervous,” Wilver said. “I’m still nervous to this day. It’s a good nervous. It’s an andreline rush. But that first time, I think I did a decent job. I got better throughout the year. The more I sang, the more comfortable I started to feel.”

Kerry Thaxton, another Storm Squad member and a 2005 graduate in communication disorders, said by the end of the year, Wilver was a completely different singer.

“She hasn’t had much, if any, formal voice training,” Thaxton said. “She has a natural talent, which has progressed into an amazing talent by the end of the season.”

Wilver, a small-town country girl who claims to be a fan of ’80s music, ’80s bands and Bette Midler, said she plans to keep music in her life, but engineering is where she plans to go concerning her career.

“My education has always come first,” Wilver said. “My major is where I will probably go with a career. Singing is a passion; I just don’t know if I could make it a career.”

Others could disagree.