I remember the first time I thought about what playoff hockey would be like at Place Bell in Laval: October 4, 2019. It was the Laval Rocket’s home opener against the Cleveland Monsters.
The crowd had white towels, similar to the ones Laval will be putting on every seat for the team’s game on Thursday night. Twenty-three seconds into the game, Alex Belzile scored and the crowd waved the towels and erupted.
It was at that moment that I thought about what a playoff game at Place Bell would be like. The Rocket would end up losing the game, but you could tell what they had built not only on the ice, but in terms of the fan base as well.