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Hurricane Sandy: AHL team makes weekend games free to help fans cope

Greg Wyshynski

Hockey's charitable side always moves to the forefront during national tragedies, and Superstorm (née Hurricane) Sandy is no exception.

The Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues alumni are scheduled to play a charity game on Nov. 10 to partially benefit those affected by the storm.

This weekend, AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers are also going to hold charity games — only they'll count toward the regular-season standings.

The Tigers, the New York Islanders' affiliate announced that this weekend's games on Saturday (7 p.m.) against the Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals affiliate) and Sunday (3 p.m.) against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins affiliate … duh) will be held free of charge to those in attendance.

From the Tigers:

"We've seen the damage - we feel it," said Bridgeport Sound Tigers President Howard Saffan. "We want to give back to the community. With the help of Hearst Media Services and Cox Communications, we intend on getting the word out. We encourage you to bring your friends and family to Webster Bank Arena this weekend and enjoy yourselves during this difficult time."

Courtesy of Webster Bank, fans can pick up tickets at the Webster Bank Arena Click It Or Ticket Box Office. Box office hours will run from 9:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. on Friday, and from 10:00 a.m. through game time on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, please call the box office at (203) 345-2300.

Tigers players are distributing free tickets at the Westfield Connecticut Post Mall in Milford and the Westfield Trumbull Mall on Friday afternoon.

Now, granted, the Tigers were probably looking at a weekend with attendance dramatically affected by the storm, as families in southern Connecticut and throughout the region rebuild and reorder their lives. It's a way to give back to the community, as well as make up for a miniscule walk-up.

What about the fans that already had tickets for this weekend? They'll be able to exchange them for any other home game this season, "except for games against the Connecticut Whale."

Even Sandy wasn't powerful enough to jar free tickets loose for the Battle of Connecticut.