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Date Posted: 16:59:33 02/19/03 Wed
Author: Boston Brawler
Subject: Interesting Article about growing a fan base....

Manchester Monarchs lead hockey minors in attendance
By Mike Recht, Associated Press, 2/19/2003 16:18
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) When the lights dimmed and the first Monarch skated out of the 20-foot-high lion's mouth, more than 9,000 people were on their feet screaming.

Later, fans got a chance to catch a Manchester Monarchs T-shirts thrown into the stands between periods, or shoot pucks to win a car. Another night, it might be sumo wrestling or dog relay races on the ice.

And then there is the game itself.

''I never heard the Garden get that loud,'' said Craig Bergeron of Manchester, who was at the recent game with sons Ian, 9 and Evan, 11.

Bergeron used to go to Boston Bruins games at the old Boston Garden and then the Fleet Center, but he hasn't gone in two years since the Monarchs of the American Hockey League came to Manchester.

He is not alone.

The Monarchs are the top drawing team in minor league hockey. They were averaging 8,898, or 90 percent capacity, in the 28-team league. Wilkes-Barre of the AHL sells out every game, but its arena holds only 8,310.

Oklahoma City of the Central Hockey League, playing in a city of 650,000 people in an arena that seats 18,170, was averaging 8,655.

Mike Krueger of Manchester, who was at the game with son Mason, 8, is another converted AHL fan.

''The atmosphere is better; there's more glitz and glitter here,'' said Krueger, a season ticket-holder.

''I became quite a fan of the AHL., I never thought I would. It's as good as the NHL for entertainment.''

Even the Los Angeles Kings and city officials weren't expecting the degree of success the Monarchs have achieved in the city of about 100,000 in a state where the only other pro team is the independent league baseball team in nearby Nashua.

''They didn't realize what an untapped market this is,'' Bergeron said. ''People go crazy about hockey.''

In the Manchester area, hockey is on a par with basketball in participation and attendance. In addition, the University of New Hampshire 30 minutes away is a perennial college hockey power.

''It's obvious there was more of a hockey market than we anticipated,'' said Hubie McDonough, the Monarchs' director of hockey operations who was a high school star in Manchester and later played in the NHL.

Canadians migrated to the area in the 1950s and '60s and started hockey clubs, he said. Then they started having kids and that spawned the youth hockey leagues, he said.

Marty Myers of Manchester, who coaches in the youth league, said the program has about 750 kids, ages 5 to 17, including the sons of Bergeron and Krueger.

In addition, the Bruins success in the 1970s spread the 50 miles north into southern New Hampshire.

Manchester and adjacent Hooksett now have four indoor hockey rinks, and how many states have their own Hockey Hall of Fame?

Cost and convenience are other factors.

Alan Beaulieu of Manchester, who with son Greg, 11, was at the game with Bergeron, said it cost him $300 to go to a Bruins game with his two sons; a Monarchs game costs $50, without the travel, traffic and parking hassle of going to Boston.

The Monarchs have done their part, cultivating the young hockey fans.

Players go to the youth practices and skate with the kids, then sign autographs. They also go to schools and hospitals.

Monarchs Coach Paul Boudreau said his players make more personal appearances than any team he has been with.

The Monarchs' popularity ''has gone beyond the curiosity thing now,'' he said. ''It's becoming such a community thing.''

The youngsters also get to play at the arena before Monarchs' games and during intermissions.

''Skating at the Verizon Center to these kids is like making it to the big time,'' Myers said. Little kids in the stands see them skating in front of 10,000 people and they want to do it, Myers said.

''They (the Monarchs) do a great job helping out kids with our program,'' he said. ''In return, we support their program by attending their games.''

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