The series is probably pretty much over. Jung has stood on his head for the past two games, and yet the team in front of him simply can not get anything done. If the Hitmen manage to get a lead on Wednesday night, the Oil Kings simply don't seem to have the will and the talent, outside of Jung, to comeback.
As far the attendance goes, it has to be considered disappointing, regardless of any mitigating factors. There is an excellent post by Guy Flaming, an Edmonton radio host who covers the Oil Kings. He confirms what Resolute mentioned, the fact that group sales were a no go, and that around a third of season ticket holders did not pick up the playoff option.
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I'm also told that of the 3300-ish season ticket holders, around 1000 didn't pick up their playoff option.
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He raises a lot of good points in the article, and acknowledges that he might not know the reason the average fan stayed away, as he gets paid to cover the team. It seems as though most took a good showing for granted,
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Last night on the catwalk I had a between periods conversation with someone in upper management who told me he had talked to "hundreds" of people last week who told him "congratulations on making the playoffs, you should have great crowds" yet at the same time were not going to be attending the games themselves.
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I think he sums it up quite nicely in two paragraphs:
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Part of me wants to be saying "Shame on you Edmonton!" but I honestly can't because I don't know who or what is to blame for the poor showing. I was expecting a crowd in the 10,000 range considering the historical importance, the playoff excitement, the quality of the opposition, (the Hitmen are a legit Memorial Cup contender as the #1 ranked team in the country), and the fact that Edmonton is so well known for being an event city. To me, this qualified as an event.
Fans of quality hockey are missing out - the Hitmen are ridiculously good and Edmonton goalie Torrie Jung has been playing out-of-his-mind in the net for the Oil Kings. I wish that was the only story from Monday night.
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http://thepipelineshow.blogspot.com/...you-there.html