Duck Fans Borrow Angel Spirit

“It’s hard to believe this is hockey weather,” Dave Pemberton said as he stood in sunshine outside the palm-tree flanked Arrowhead Pond on Saturday to buy Mighty Ducks playoff tickets. “You should be able to see your breath.”

And the weather wasn’t the only strange thing about the ticket sales for Round 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Some people didn’t expect the Ducks to make it this far.

But Anaheim swept the reigning Detroit Red Wings in four games, advancing to the second round. The unexpected victory prompted the Detroit Free Press headline: “Wings can’t believe it; neither can the Ducks.”

Still riding the Angels’ World Series high, fans can’t help hoping for a little more championship magic.

Pemberton, 53, of Yorba Linda, even carried his rally monkey to Saturday’s ticket sale. “Can’t hurt,” he said. “I was never superstitious before, but something must work.”

Duck officials distributed randomly numbered wristbands to about 700 fans, who were allowed to buy eight tickets per game. The tickets ranged from $35 to $95, and officials expected to sell out the 17,174-seat arena. An estimated 70% of Saturday’s sales were through Ticketmaster on the Internet.

Die-hard hockey fans arrived as early as 6 a.m., even though tickets were sold by the random numbers and not on a first-come, first-served basis. Some fans said they have followed the Ducks since the team’s founding 10 years ago.

“I’ve got two jerseys, three sweatshirts, four shirts, three hats and one big jacket,” said Abelardo Martinez, 39, of Garden Grove.

“Once you come to a game live, you just want to keep coming back. And hockey players are not prima donnas like baseball players or jerks like basketball players.”

Miguel Puente, 17, of Bell Gardens said his girlfriend is an enthusiastic Duck fan. He admits he’s just climbing on the bandwagon. “This is like the Angels all over again,” he said.