Carolina Hurricanes: Ranking the Top 5 Storm Surges

The Carolina Hurricanes have injected the fanbase with life this season, showing fans that winning the game deserves to be celebrated. Captain Justin Williams’ brainchild, the Storm Surge has reinvigorated interest in the team.

The Carolina Hurricanes are sweeping the hockey world with their post-game win celebrations. The innovative rebellion against a too-often stifling hockey culture has led to obvious division. Some have praised the forward thinking players, desperate to keep their grip on a fanbase that has been left wanting more in recent years, while others have called for the return to conformity and the end of such ‘adolescent’ antics.

For fans of the Carolina Hurricanes, however, this is a welcome new tradition. The players have reminded us what winning feels like, and man it feels good! What better way to reminisce on these great moments, and look forward to the great ones to come, than to break down our Top 5 Surge Celly’s of the season!

5) The Captain Goes Bowling

Part of what makes the Carolina Hurricanes’ win celebrations so refreshing is the excitement of the unexpected. This celebration encapsulates that experience. As the Buffalo Sabres took the ice at PNC, they carried with them a familiar face. With a hard-fought win in hand, fans were anxiously awaiting what these players could have up their sleeves, and they were not disappointed.

The creativity, humor, and execution make this celebration great, but context makes it memorable. A win against a dominant team, confronting the success of a player in greener pastures, topped off with an awesome celebration. This night was all about wins for the Caniac faithful filling the rumbling seats.

4) The Domino Effect

A three game win streak, a three goal game by first year Hurricane Jordan Martinook, and a game that saw us win by three goals led to a Storm Surge that symbolized the roll that this team was on after a late November victory over the Florida Panthers.

The celebration was almost too perfect. The players aligned themselves in the shape of a ‘W’ before a bursting Teuvo Teravainen pummeled into the players, knocking them down like human dominoes. It gets points for being unique and well orchestrated, and saw fans embrace the statement that these players were sending: that this roll was just the beginning.

3) The Mighty McGinn

Arguably the most popular and widely recognizable Storm Surge for the Carolina Hurricanes this season, ‘The Mighty McGinn’ is easily one of the more unique. Taking inspiration from the popular film and comic character Thor, Carolina’s resident tough guy, Brock McGinn, stood at center-ice while being encircled by his teammates, delivering a hammer strike that sends them crashing to the ground.

Facing the Columbus Blue Jackets, a formidable division foe, the Carolina Hurricanes needed a win to prove they were more than a .500 hockey team. Contributions from across the board helped the Canes secure the victory, but there was no player better suited to deliver the hammer strike than McGinn: a Caniac fan favorite who has the grit of a warrior and the hair of a Norse God.

1) The Start of it All

There may have been more creative celebrations this season. There will be others that push the boundaries. There will be nothing, however, that captures the excitement of what the Storm Surge has become than the celebration that started it all. Any Caniac will recall the moment all too well. Fans gathered in the arena, hoping for the best, preparing for the worst, and investing once again into a franchise that has had good years clouded by too many bad ones.

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After the pleasant elation over a home victory wore off, the moment began to unfold. Those who watched through their television can recollect John Forslund and Tripp Tracy’s improvised commentary – the breath of fresh air that was this spontaneous event, the sign of a new regime and a new way. Sports have a way of being both unexpected and all too familiar, and this was a poignant reminder that these players suit up for us as fans. This moment became their chance to engage, to remind us as fans that we are all in this together. The season will have highs and lows, but this team made it clear that winning is what makes the game worth playing.

Whatever happens for the remainder of the season, this has already been the team’s most successful season for many years. Even if you discount the improved on-ice performances, the efforts made from the top down since Tom Dundon purchased the Carolina Hurricanes are paying huge dividends – no other NHL team has such a close bond with their fanbase as the Canes do right now.

Let us know if we missed your favorite Storm Surge off our list – and what ideas you might have for future celebrations!