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The Charlotte Checkers played a game in an empty arena after 4 inches of snow shut down the city

By Cara Bahniuk

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January 17, 2018 10:10 pm

A night after winning 3-0 in front of a sold-out crowd, the Charlotte Checkers played the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in an empty arena.

Due to an impending snowstorm that brought four inches of snow to the Charlotte area, the Checkers moved their game up to 5 PM. The organization also decided to close the doors of Bojangles’ Coliseum as North Carolina was put under a state of emergency.

Video

The crowd goes wild for the start of tonight’s big game! #BehindClosedDoors2

A post shared by Charlotte Checkers (@checkershockey) on

“So first of all, we’re in the South,” Checkers COO Tera Black said to Deadspin’s Dan McQuade. “The snow events are infrequent and sort of sporadic and very, very unpredictable.”

While road crews dropped more than two million gallons of salt brine and 5,000 tons of salt and sand on the roads, icy conditions still plagued the city.

The Checkers made the decision to send a majority of the team staff home. Getting creative, executive members filled odd roles.

Some ticket sales staff served as ice crew members, the finance guy was the PA announcer, the corporate sales guy ran the video board, the merchandise manager was behind the video camera, the COO served as the DJ, and the corporate servicing specialist put on the mascots costume.

The fill-in social media person had the most fun. After fielding responses from multiple teams in reply to the situation, they sent sassy replies.

When the Milwaukee Admirals tried to brag about six inches of snow, the Checkers had the best response.

Then the Rocket de Laval and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins sent photos of snow outside their arenas and offices.

But, it wasn’t just the Checkers staff getting in on the fun. An unnamed player for the Sound Tigers got jiggy to the Cotton Eyed Joe while serving a minor in the penalty box.

The best part was the empty Kiss Cam. I don’t know about you, but those seats look like they got super cozy.

Hockey definitely isn’t the same without a crowd reacting to every moment of the game, but the Checkers still managed to have fun and that’s what is important.

Shockingly, this isn’t the first time the Checkers have played in front of 0 people. A game against the Chicago Wolves in January 2016 was also played in an empty arena due to an ice storm.

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