A Mighty Debut at The Pond : Premiere: Opening night pageantry fills the bill for thousands of expectant fans who packed Anaheim Arena.

With all the giddy anticipation of a first date, thousands of Mighty Ducks fans decked themselves out in duck attire and met their team Friday night. They weren’t sure what to expect, but they hoped for a good time.

“It was to be expected,” Sandy McCubbin, 33, said of the 7-2 loss to Detroit as he left the arena with his father shortly before the game ended. “You have to be patient. It will take a little time. But it was really exciting tonight, with all the fans there.”

“I love the Ducks,” added Jeff Cowart, 7, of Laguna Niguel. “I don’t care if they lost.”

Even before the team took the ice, the crowd swooned over the hip-gyrating Mighty Mascot who descended from the arena rafters onto the ice. Even louder cheers and a standing ovation followed when the players, whose identities are a mystery to most fans, skated into the rink.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Sean Toohey, 36, of Orange, who gave up his Los Angeles Kings tickets for season seats for the Ducks. “At first I was concerned about Disney getting into hockey, calling the team the Ducks and messing with the sport. But now, I think it’s great.”

Toohey wasn’t the only Orange County resident to have switched allegiances from the team up north. Many fans said they are supporting the Ducks because the games are close, the arena is new and safer than the Forum in Inglewood and they like being at the start of a movement--win or lose.

“It’s like getting on the ground floor of something,” said Michael Lyssy, 28, of Laguna Niguel. “We can grow with the team. Even if they (stink) it will be fun watching them.”

Furthermore, Lyssy said, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim “are not afraid to say where they’re from like the California Angels and the Los Angeles Rams.”

Others fans said they were attracted to the Ducks because of the entertainment value of all Disney productions. There was a tangible Disney feel to the entire event Friday, with the occasion resembling a Hollywood movie premiere more than sport.

“This is definitely something for the whole family now,” said Siobhan Rosenberg, of Mission Viejo, who was flanked by her husband, Ken, 5-year-old son, Eric, and 2-year-old daughter, Amy. “It’s more colorful, more festive, more fun.”

Eric was excited for another reason: “I like the fights.”

The fans’ excitement was palpable early in the evening. Some arrived early to have tailgate parties. Other milled about, gawking at arriving celebrities and buying souvenir inaugural game programs.

“I didn’t really know much about (hockey) before, but I’m becoming a fan,” said Sgt. Jim Moore of the Anaheim Police Department. He said his biggest fear about opening night was not that a riot would break out, but that the Ducks wouldn’t win.

“It’s intoxicating,” he said.

Scott Jocheck, 20, of Anaheim lugged a large placard plastered with Mighty Ducks posters and waited by the players’ entrance, silver magic-marker in hand, along with about 20 other autograph seekers. Since team members are new, Jocheck and the rest of the crowd had some trouble recognizing the Ducks.

Spotting a large fellow dressed in a brightly colored tie, Jocheck followed his hunch. It paid off. The man was center Anatoli Semenov, No. 19. He barely cracked a smile as the fans thrust pens, programs and T-shirts in his face.

“It is great having hockey here in Orange County,” Jocheck said, motioning to his poster. “This is going to be worth something some day.”

To some fans, its wasn’t just the players they did not recognize--it was the sport itself.

Ted Jass, 44, of Brea said he bought four season tickets but still does not know the rules of the game.

“I’ll learn,” he said with a smile. “It’s an exciting sport. It’s like soccer, isn’t it?”

Contributing to this report were Times staff writers Jeff Brazil, Jennifer Brundin, Ann Conway, Bob Elston, Shelby Grad, Len Hall, Matt Lait, Rene Lynch, Jeffrey A. Perlman, Mary Lou Pickel, David Reyes, Terry Spencer, Dan Weikel and Jodi Wilgoren.

* THE GLITTER--The well-heeled wined and dined at Anaheim’s new capital of chic. A20

* PROBLEMS--The traffic cleared, and most everyone was inside by 8:15. A20

* THE GAME--The Ducks fall to the Detroit Red Wings, 7-2. C1

* MIKE PENNER--After the festivities, the game was the undercard. C1

* THE AFTERMATH--The game was as lopsided as the final score indicated. C4

* GAME IN PICTURES C5