Nicole Willis, left, laughs with Abby D’Lugin while tailgating before the NHL Stadium Series game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023. Willis is recovering from hip surgery she had 10 days ago so her friends brought a chair to make sure she could tailgate and enjoy the game.
ehyman@newsobserver.com
RALEIGH
It’s here.
The 2023 Stadium Series outdoor hockey game at N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium, an NHL spectacle years in the making for the Triangle, is upon us.
Thousands of people heeded the warnings and arrived early, tailgating the afternoon away in anticipation of the 8 p.m. contest. Thousands more did not, and traffic snarled the limited access roads to the stadium.
As we get ready for the game, and then during the game itself, keep refreshing here for the latest updates from Carter-Finley.
Pregame
6 p.m.: The gates have opened to the general public. All open gates at Carter-Finley have started to allow fans to enter the building. Some are sprinting to their seats, others making a beeline to the merchandise tents, and many finding the concession stands. It will be a slow trickle of fans to get into the stadium over the next two hours, culminating in an official sellout.
4:45 p.m.: Those sounds blasting from the stadium are not from a concert the public is missing. Intermission performer Jake Owen was running through part of his set as a sound check on the stage beyond the hockey goal on the east side of the rink.
3 p.m.: Hot dogs and burgers are sizzling and the fans are in full tailgate mode as cars continue to stream into the lots surrounding Carter-Finley Stadium. On a bluebird day, with temps and conditions ripe for football-style tailgating, people were ready to partake.
Justin is a 20-year veteran sports journalist with stops in Lewiston, Maine (Sun Journal), and Boston (Boston Herald). A proud husband, and father of twin girls, Pelletier is a Boston University graduate and member of the esteemed Jack Falla sportswriting mafia. He has earned dozens of state and national sportswriting and editing awards covering preps, colleges and professional leagues.