There's something about a cozy crowd of thousands rubbing elbows at the Onondaga County War Memorial when the Syracuse Crunch is on a roll, sure.
But everybody around here knows that owner Howard Dolgon dreams of far more than that. Ever since he brought American Hockey League pucks back to the Salt City in 1994, the guy from downstate has made no qualms about planning events that allow his teams to wander away from that rink that sits along State Street to take a shot for for something that includes these two words in the title. Biggest and Ever.
Back in 2010, Dolgon's brainchild was to put up a portable rink outside, at the State Fair Grandstand. And on Feb. 20, 21,508 screaming people showed up out in the cold to watch the Crunch beat the Binghamton Senators by the score of 2-1. And, yes, that crowd was the most to see an AHL outdoor game ever.
This year's big plan had the very grandiose name of Frozen Dome Classic. This time Dolgon's goal was to draw the largest crowd ever to watch a professional hockey game indoors. To get that biggest-ever label, it would have to draw to the Carrier Dome on Saturday night more than the 28,183 folks that went to the Thunderdome in 1996 to watch a playoff game between Tampa Bay and Philadelphia.
And, yes, when the puck dropped between Dolgon's Crunch and the Utica Comets from up the Thruway a stretch, it was indeed the Biggest Crowd Ever. In the third period, the announcement came over the public address system: the attendance was 30,715.
What did it feel like as the Syracuse skated to a 2-1 victory over Utica?
I went to the game with my dear wife Karen, my daughter Elisabeth and her boyfriend George. From our four seats in section 305, row N, I felt more of a buzz of excitement than any Syracuse University football game this season. The only one that came close was the contest against defending national champion Florida State. To be fair, the Orange was already pretty well cooked by that point, with only a double overtime victory over FCS Villanova and non-league road win against Central Michigan against consecutive losses to Maryland, Notre Dame and ACC foe Louisville already in the ledger.
Dolgon made sure to put a big bow around the game even before it started, inviting Utica College and Oswego State to play a big Division III college game just before the AHL contest (which ended in a 4-4 tie). For the pre-game skate, many of the Crunch players, and one or two of the Comets, wore jerseys with the No. 75 and the name Still on the back. That represented Cincinnati Bengals player Devon Still, whose jersey has become a commodity because his 4-year-old daughter, Leah, is battling cancer, and the sale of jerseys bearing his number has raised money for the battle against pediatric cancer. A clip of Still thanking members of the Crunch for wearing his name and number was shown on the dome's big video screens before the game.
As part of the pregame ceremony, pro hockey, Syracuse University and a military hero were called to center ice to receive applause and drop the puck. The honorees included SU football star Joe Morris and basketball star Derrick Coleman, former Crunch fighter/skater Jon Mirasty, Crunch and NHL player Zenon Konopka, and former NHL stars Glenn Anderson and Pat Verbeek, as well as a soldier who served so well.
And once the game started, how into it was the crowd?
There were enough fans who made the drive from Utica to make noise when the Comets drew first blood. In fact, most of the people in our surrounding rows were cheering for Utica.
But the Crunch came back. And by the third period, everybody in the building was participating in a rollicking version of The Wave. Round and Round it went. At the moment, it felt like the Biggest. Wave. Ever. And 30,715 fans in the Carrier Dome to watch a hockey game felt like something special for Syracuse. Something very different than the cozy games that will follow for the rest of this season in they War Memorial. Or until Howard Dolgon comes up with his next idea for a Biggest Ever.