Isles be back — but only for a day
Team returns to Long Island for pre-season game, but fans wish it could be permanent
UNIONDALE, N. Y.— Nearly 21⁄ years af
2 ter last playing at the Nassau Coliseum, John Tavares and the New York Islanders gave their fans something to cheer about back at their refurbished former home.
The Islanders returned to the Coliseum for a day for a pre-season game against Philadelphia, but that didn’t matter to fans clamouring for the team’s return from Brooklyn. They showed up early Sunday morning to tailgate and participate in pre-game festivities outside, including a museum truck and a virtual reality Zamboni experience, and to take pictures with the Stanley Cup.
“It’s nice to be back home,” said Andrew Gagnon, a student at nearby Hofstra University who arrived at 9 a.m. to tailgate. “This is where the four Cups were won. All that history is here. I saw a sign that said, ‘This is home, not Brooklyn.’ That’s how everyone feels.”
Daniel Fisher, a Deer Park resident who has attended every game for 15 years, agreed.
“It’ll be good to see them in the Coliseum again,” he said. “It’s almost like old times. Got here early, 8 o’clock, tailgating. That’s how we roll.”
Tavares scored his second goal of the game 34 seconds into overtime to give the Islanders a 3-2 victory over the Flyers, sending the fans into a frenzy and chants of “Bring them back!”
“Just a lot of fun to play back here, in a place that means so much,” Tavares said.
“There’s a lot of good memories, lot of good thoughts even walking through the halls a little bit.”
After celebrating the goal, the Islanders gathered at centre ice to salute the fans, and skated off the ice to a rousing ovation.
With the Islanders trailing 2-0, Tavares started the comeback with his first goal just past the midpoint of the second period. Rookie Mathew Barzal tied it about 51⁄ minutes into the
2 third.
Mike Vecchione scored 40 seconds into the second period to get the Flyers on the board first, and Jori Lehte- ra, who assisted on the first goal, doubled the lead a little more than eight minutes later.
The “Bring them Back!” chants reverberated around the arena after the third period ended, and Tavares said he noticed.
“I think they certainly wanted to be heard,” he said. “That’s above my pay grade, but certainly this place is very meaningful to this organization and the identity of this organization for a reason.”
The game was sold out with the attendance announced at 13,917.
Claire Harding, a resident of Huntington and president of the Islanders Boosters Club that she says has been around since the team’s inception in 1972 was also glad to see the team back at the old arena where it played for the franchise’s first 43 years.
“The atmosphere right now is the same as it used to be,” said Harding, who was joined by her husband Gary and two friends several hours before the game.