Memories Forever Frozen on Ice
- Kimberly Angle
- Sep 1, 2023
- 2 min read
It is interesting to think that a fan of a sport would ever get the chance to play said sport in the same arena as their local larger scale favorite team. The Milwaukee Admirals made this happen during the AHL Playoff season. Dreams were realized as some young and some not-so-young hockey players took to
the ice at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panther arena.
While playing hockey on a college arena may not be everyone’s top dream in life, this was a little more special as the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals were taking on the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the semi-final round of the Calder Cup. For those of you not familiar with the AHL, this would be analogous to the NHL’s Nashville Predators taking on the Seattle Kraken in the Stanley Cup Conference Championship games. The AHL is closest you can get to the NHL without being in it. Players are regularly called from AHL to NHL. If baseball is more familiar, the AHL is the AAA teams for Major League Baseball.
The Admirals rent out their ice occasionally before games to give hockey players of all ages a chance to be on the ice in a big rink, as well as a chance to sell tickets. NHL is very strict during the Conference Finals and won’t even allow special events like this. You’d think that an event like this would cost hundreds of dollars as it includes the ticket to the game. The cost for nearly two hours of ice time and a ticket to the game was $25. Better yet, these amateurs get to sit in the front row of the 300 section, not a bad seat.IT is a win-win as fans get to feel like a part of the play off game by playing on the ice prior, the Admirals are guaranteed to fill seats with fans cheering them on
While there were some old guys skating on the ice there were a few sons and daughters in attendance as well. Local high school hockey teams were there. Hockey was represented as well as the local AAA teams Milwaukee Jr.
Ads and Madison Capitols. They’re generally much faster than their older parents but certainly challenge each other when going into a one-on-one situation. Here we see Dads and some talented teenagers take to the ice. Bob Seafelt, who took his daughter and played on the once prior to the game stated
“There’s a great feeling of camaraderie out there. Kids in HS playing against each other. Parents in rec league playing with different parents from the rec league. It was an absolutely a great afternoon for a very reasonable price. You just can't beat the excitement and fan experience when watching the Admirals. All seats have a great view of the ice but the onces included in this experience for the price ar an unbeatable value and the memories are priceless,”
Kudos to the Admirals for such a great season and also providing the fans with memories foe a lifetime.
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