This past Saturday the Fayetteville Marksmen hosted their Bunch of Jerks night in collaboration with the Carolina Hurricanes.The night was a celebration of hockey in North Carolina.
This past Saturday I saw the Fayetteville Marksmen of the SPHL hosted their Bunch of Jerks night. This was put on in collaboration with the Carolina Hurricanes. The night saw the Marksmen wear themed jerseys based upon the Hurricanes black alternate jerseys as they took on the Roanoke Rail yard Dawgs. Stormy, Wade Minter, the Storm Squad, and Hamilton the Pig were also in attendance for the game.
The night started off with a bang when my girlfriend and I met up with our friend Taylor and the rest of the Red Eye Rowdies outside of Crown Coliseum on the cold and windy Saturday evening. As we got to the front entrance we ran into Hamilton the pig and pig dad themselves.
Always a pleasure to see and talk to them. After we took our pictures with Hamilton, we all went inside where we ran into even more friends including fellow Cardiac Cane contributor Zac Hynus.
Then the time came for the Marksmen to take the ice. And these guys come out through a inflatable tank. Their Hurricanes themed jerseys were gorgeous to see in person too. Roanoke took an early lead but towards the end of the first period the Marksmen were able to tie it up.
When the Marksmen tied up the game, I was down getting ready to go out on the ice to play knocker ball. Soccer with those giant inflatable balls that you wear. And I thought I was in decent shape before that. Turns out I am not. But man was it fun. Big thanks the the Marksmen for getting me to play that.
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In the second period the Marksmen were able to take the lead with a goal by McLoy. The Dawgs tied it back up shortly after but Stork but the Marksmen back in front. Sadly, Roanoke were able to ties it up again at 3. Come closing of the second period though, the Marksmen held a 4-3 lead. The Dawgs also got very feisty and a fight broke out and another one came very close to going down as well. Marksmen came out on top of course.
The second intermission saw a group of fans in Hurricanes gear and Stormy take on fans in Marksmen gear and Marky in a game of broom ball.Hockey with brooms and a ball. The game ended in a tie. But it was funny to see some of my friends out there trying their best. Especially the” kilted Caniac”, Jeff, going into full goalie mode.
The third period saw the second penalty shot of the game for the Marksmen. It was ultimately missed, as was the one during the first period. But in the end it didn’t even matter because the Marksmen held onto their 4-3 lead and improved to a record pf 8-0-1.
After the final horn sounded, the Marksmen gathered at center ice for their own take on the iconic Storm Surge. And it sure was something. They did a football themed surge which saw Brian Bowen connect with Malcom Hayes for a big touchdown pass.
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After the game, the themed jerseys were auctioned off. And the skate with the Marksmen event was held.
It was great to see the Marksmen and Hurricanes organizations come together for this. North Carolina is constantly touted as not being a hockey state. But nights like this prove all the naysayers wrong. Hopefully we can see more events put on like this down the road with the Marksmen, Hurricanes, and even the Thunderbirds and Checkers.
Question for CC readers: Where you in attendance at Saturday’s game?