‘It blows my mind’: Vegas Golden Knights treat fans in rare NHL preseason game in Boise
Inside Idaho Central Arena on Saturday evening, fans in an assortment of hockey jerseys slowly filtered into their seats.
Idaho Steelheads jerseys littered the crowd, blending in among NHL sweaters as far-flung as the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and, most importantly, the Vegas Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes.
The latter two were the main attraction in Boise, competing in their final preseason game ahead of the 2022 National Hockey League season. The game ended in a 5-1 victory for Vegas in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd; it was just the third-ever NHL event hosted in Boise.
But as some people were getting comfortable in their seats, before a puck even touched the ice, some lucky fans watched their idols play a different sport out in Grove Plaza about an hour before the game: soccer.
Sporting black and gold Golden Knights gear, members of the Vegas outfit spent some time juggling and kicking around a ball. They were staying loose and having fun.
“Right now, they’re just a foot away from me. It blows my mind,” Vegas fan Matthew Prater told the Idaho Statesman. “I just shook Jack Eichel’s hand, a player that I’ve loved for a long time.”
Alex Pietrangelo, a Stanley Cup winner in 2019 and 2014 Olympic gold medalist with Team Canada, was one of the Vegas players keeping loose with a soccer ball before the game.
“You’re probably a little more locked down inside the arena during the regular season,” Pietrangelo told the Idaho Statesman. “But sometimes you’ve got to change it up there. It was fun for us, a couple of people wanted to hop in, we had our game going. It’s good, that’s what it’s all about for these guys.”
Prater, a 30-year-old lifelong Boisean, said he has been a Vegas fan since the organization’s inaugural season in 2017. He called himself the biggest Golden Knights fan in Boise, but then corrected himself — not just in Boise, but in Idaho.
Saturday night’s game wasn’t the first Golden Knights game Prater has been to — he’s attended a few games in Vegas — but he said he was in disbelief when he heard that his favorite team would be playing in his hometown.
“Tonight, they’re going to play on the ice that I’ve played on many, many times,” Prater said before the game. “I grew up playing hockey for 14 years. So seeing this and these guys playing, that really sparked something.”
Inside the arena, from the moment the national anthem was pierced with a “KNIGHTS” shout during “Gave proof to the night …” the arena became decidedly pro-Vegas.
The Golden Knights were technically the hosts for the game and declared Idaho Central Arena as “The Fortress” for the evening, and it certainly lived up to its new name.
Vegas streaked out to a 3-0 lead within the first 15 minutes, thanks to goals from Chandler Stephenson, Nicolas Roy and Jonathan Marchessault. The Coyotes’ Travis Boyd brought a goal back for Arizona late in the first period, but a pair of third-period goals from Eichel and Pietrangelo rounded out the Knights’ victory.
The game was just the third NHL preseason event ever held in Boise. The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks faced off in a preseason game in 1997, while the Dallas Stars hosted a training camp and intrasquad scrimmage in 2018.
“I thought it was awesome, I like Boise,” Marchessault said. “These games in these small arenas is a great atmosphere. I thought the arena was beautiful, everybody here was awesome.”
Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy, who’s entering his first season leading the Golden Knights, also commended the arena, calling it an “NHL surface.”
“It’s good for the Golden Knights fans. To be able to spread our wings outside the ice and give back to them in that regard, you’re always looking for your fan base,” Cassidy said. “I’m new to the geography around here, so it was great to see a lot of Knights jerseys.”
The Golden Knights had some fun on their Twitter account, polling fans on the best potato dish (spoiler: mashed potatoes won) and even calling themselves the “Idaho Golden Knights” at one point.
The game wrapped up preseason for both teams. Vegas kicks off their regular season on Tuesday against Los Angeles, while Arizona gets going two days later at the Pittsburgh Penguins.
This story was originally published October 8, 2022 at 9:57 PM.
