Cup Has Overflow Effect on Fans

Whether because it’s more than a century old, or because the names of players who gave their blood and teeth for it are etched on its bands for succeeding generations to trace, the Stanley Cup evokes powerful reactions.

The line of people snaking through the lobby of the Long Beach Arena on Saturday was as excited as any crowd that might gather in Montreal or Moose Jaw. Dressed in jerseys of NHL teams or the ECHL Ice Dogs, fans kissed the Cup or stared at it in wonder when their turn arrived to spend a few seconds with it and take a picture for posterity.

“I’m thrilled,” said Jamie Johnson of Hemet, a King season-ticket holder who has attended a few Ice Dog games. “My heart is beating fast. I’m shaking. I think it’s awesome and thrilling.”

Brandon Lapenna, a Montreal native who lives in Newport Beach, wore the bleu, blanc et rouge of the Canadiens. He took pictures of the Cup with his cellphone’s camera and planned to share them with his father.

“This is the closest I’ve ever been to the Cup,” he said. “It’s beautiful. I came because this is the only way we’re going to see it this year.”

The Cup is controlled by the NHL and won’t be awarded this spring because a labor dispute led Commissioner Gary Bettman to cancel the season. However, it won’t gather dust at the Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Phil Pritchard, vice president of hockey operations and curator of the hall, is the Cup’s guardian. He kept vigil over it on Saturday and will do so again today before the Ice Dogs’ 5 p.m. game against Las Vegas. “This is a great crowd. Phenomenal,” he said. “I think I’ve seen every NHL jersey here. That’s what hockey is. It’s got that great tradition.”

He and the Cup will leave town tonight on a red-eye flight, bound for Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, and an aboriginal hockey tournament.

“The Cup always gets out there,” said Pritchard, who keeps a pair of white gloves in his pocket to handle the Cup with care. “Some other dates have opened [because of the cancellation], but it promotes the game. It’s the centerpiece of hockey.”

The Cup lured 5,222 fans to Long Beach on Saturday, more than the average of 2,943 for the Ice Dogs, who lost to the Alaska Aces, 4-3, in overtime. Among those fans was Kipp Smith of Riverside, who wore a King jersey and held up a vanity license plate that read LRD STLY as he posed next to the Cup.

“It’s a big deal. A huge deal,” Smith said. “It’s so sad hockey’s not playing this year.”