Liam Spickelmier was born and raised in Nebraska and has no relatives in Winnipeg, but ever since a trip to the city in 2018, he says he feels like he should’ve been Canadian.
Spickelmier has been back to the Manitoba capital two more times since then, taking in six games over the visits, the most recent in mid-April. He and his fiancée, Bailey Audrey, hoped to take in a playoff game or even a whiteout street party, but with tickets sold out, they turned their attention to Colorado, where they’ll be in attendance at Ball Arena in Denver Sunday afternoon for Game 4 of the series.
“When we went to Winnipeg there was just no competition in terms of the atmosphere of the fan base. Everything was just so wild and passionate that it automatically turned us into fans,” he said.
“Since then we’ve been to 13 other arenas, and still nothing comes close.”
It’s just over a seven-hour drive from his home of Lincoln, Neb., to Denver for the game, he said. Spickelmier is hitting the road with his Audrey and his 60-year-old mother, who will be watching her game.
“Obviously we’d rather be taking her to Winnipeg to experience that, but yeah, it’ll be great to get her there, she’s already super excited,” he said.
Jets fan married Avs fan
Lifelong Winnipegger and Jets fan Lyndsay Sanders is also in Denver, but not just for the game. She moved in January and lives there with her husband, who is from Denver and has been a Colorado Avalanche fan for decades.
Sanders, 42, said she and her husband have been prepping for what would happen if their teams met in the playoffs.
“I was prepared for this to be a thing and when it actually happened, I was like, ‘OK, here it is.’ I didn’t expect to be here and surrounded by Avalanche fans the first time that it happened,” said Sanders.
“It’s been interesting because all of my friends are Avs fans and they’re doing all the watch parties and going to the games and stuff like that, and it’s kind of weird being away from home for that.”
Sanders said the cost of plane tickets was a bit too steep to come home by the time the first round schedule was released, but hopes the team’s post-season run extends beyond Round 1.
“If they make it to the finals, I’m just going to pull the plug on it…. It’s a once in a lifetime thing, and I would love to be in the city somewhere if that’s…
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