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.
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.
congrats on the weather https://t.co/2TArTw8rzf
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) January 17, 2018
We got 6 inches of snow yesterday and we’re all in the office today! #slackers 😉
— Milwaukee Admirals (@mkeadmirals) January 17, 2018
Then the Rocket de Laval and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins sent photos of snow outside their arenas and offices.
Yeah well this was taken outside our arena this morning. Just trust us, no need to look into it. pic.twitter.com/SVRdhUMu1M
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) January 17, 2018
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.
Best way to hype up a non-existent crowd? Cotton-Eyed Joe, hands down. pic.twitter.com/N8aCbwHz03
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) January 17, 2018
The best part was the empty Kiss Cam. I don’t know about you, but those seats look like they got super cozy.
Awwwwwww!#BehindClosedDoors2 pic.twitter.com/nz9ZGyUOHz
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) January 17, 2018
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.
Tonight was fun. Thanks for following along and staying safe. #BehindClosedDoors2 pic.twitter.com/XCYaL3UJ52
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) January 18, 2018
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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