One of the biggest offseason questions for the Carolina Hurricanes this summer didn’t involve players or contracts. Fans wanted to know if the team would revive its much-maligned yet beloved Storm Surge postgame celebrations. It didn’t take long to find out.
After the team’s 4-3 shootout win against Montreal in the season opener, most of the 18,680 fans stood and cheered and wondered what was going to happen. The players had been remarkably quiet about it throughout the summer.
When the team circled goalie Petr Mrazek, some of the players seemed confused, but then defenseman Dougie Hamilton, the star of the game, skated to center ice and the familiar Skol clap began, eliciting a roar from the crowd.