Watching Cup run in San Jose a family affair
What if they sweep the Sharks? What if they win in San Jose? We kind of wanted to be there for that.
Some Edmonton fans will pack their bags and head south this weekend when the Oilers take their playoff run on the road.
With resale ticket prices for Game 1 on Wednesday at Rogers Place starting at US$245 on StubHub, fans have been mulling the idea on Twitter of travelling to San Jose to see the Oilers play there Sunday instead.
But for lifelong Oilers fans, it’s not a question of either/or.
“I’m going to every game (this round) except Game 6,” said Jared Snyder, who also went to all 12 home games during the Oilers’ 2006 Stanley Cup run. “Game 6, when the Oilers beat the Hurricanes 4-0, was the greatest hockey game I’ve watched in my life. I want to relive that.”
Snyder, 34, along with his father and brother, will watch the Oilers take on the Sharks in San Jose on Sunday and again next Tuesday.
“My Dad was saying, ‘What if they sweep the Sharks? What if they win in San Jose?’ ” said Snyder. “We kind of wanted to be there for that.”
Jason Norman, 35, is also heading to San Jose after his girlfriend surprised him Monday, even though she has to work this weekend and is unable to make the trip herself.
“I’ve never been to an Oilers game outside of Edmonton, never been to any NHL game outside Edmonton,” Norman said. “Hopefully, my brother and I go and there’s going to be a sweep.”
Tickets for Sunday’s game in San Jose were being sold Tuesday for as little as US$68 and include a T-shirt, commemorative ticket and light-up wrist band.
Snyder and his family snagged an even better deal by booking their trip as soon as the Oilers-Sharks matchup was set. “Airfare has been marked up at least 20 per cent since yesterday and ticket prices were going up as I was buying them,” Snyder said.
Edmonton travel agency Newwest Travel jumped on the chance to offer an Oilers playoff travel package.
“We do two to three packages a year with the Oilers, but we’ve never been able to offer a trip for the playoffs,” said president Dennis Laliberte.
More than half of the “road trip” packages, which start at $2,370 for two people, were sold by early Tuesday afternoon.
“Every time we do these trips, Oilers fans have been very well received,” Laliberte said.