It’s a frenzy at the box office for the semi-final of the QMJHL between the Remparts and the Gatineau Olympiques, so much so that Quebec came very close to setting an attendance record in the history of the playoffs, Friday, with 17 461 tickets sold for the first game, played at the Videotron Centre.
As wrote The newspaperThursday, the Remparts had already smashed their old record of 15,342 which dated back to May 12, 2006, during the fifth game of the President’s Cup final against the Moncton Wildcats.
And with some 17,460 tickets sold (out of a maximum capacity of 18,740, including boxes), the “Red Devils” can now claim the second best crowd in league history.
Not far from the absolute mark
Patrick Roy’s troop beat the Chevaliers de Longueuil and the Junior de Verdun, who had gathered 17,208 fans at the Montreal Forum in 1983.
It was a long time ago. A proof?
The head coach of the New York Rangers, Gerard Gallant, then formed a formidable duo with Pat LaFontaine with the Junior while it was Jacques Lemaire who led the Knights.
The first game of this final series, on April 22, 1983, also attracted 17,860 spectators, which was the mark to beat yesterday (and now, for the rest of the series) for the Remparts.
A message to the NHL
The frenzy was already felt in the lobby of the amphitheater on Friday, more than an hour before the start of the game, when the place was invaded by supporters dressed in red.
Some spectators had also traveled especially to be part of history, in the event that the team establishes a new assistance mark.
And others traced a link between the enthusiasm currently aroused by the Remparts and the possibility that Quebec once again has a club in the National Hockey League.
“The atmosphere is going to be crazy, rejoiced André Marcotte, a season ticket holder. It really proves that Quebec City is ready to have its National League team.
“I have my season tickets for the Remparts, I had them for the Nordiques too. [Cette foule]it sends a message that we are ready to have our team,” added Denis Vézina.
– With the collaboration of Nicolas St-Pierre