April and Nic got into hockey three seasons ago after taking in a Boston Bruins game on a visit to Massachusetts. They returned home to Anaheim and began following the Ducks.
“We went to 14 games this season,” Nic said. “We really only started going to the games a couple of years ago.”
April now watches with her good luck charm, a stuffed replica of the Ducks mascot Wild Wing. It paid off Wednesday.
“This is my first time being into a sport ever,” she said. “This is the first sport I’ve been super into.”
There were also longtime Ducks fans in attendance at the watch party.
Matthew Soria, 24, has early memories of attending Ducks games at Honda Center.
“I remember standing up on my seat when I was a little kid cheering on George Parros, and I’ve loved the Ducks ever since,” he said. “Now you see the youth movement coming up now and I’m so excited about the future of this team.”
Soria was wearing a vintage Ducks jersey but is also excited with the latest orange look. Now instead of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne jerseys, many fans are wearing the colors of the next generation, led by forwards Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, Beckett Sennecke, Troy Terry, McTavish and defensemen Jackson LaCombe and Pavel Mintyukov.
“It’s been a fun ride watching the bright future of the Ducks,” Soria said. “The brand is getting bigger, the brand is getting more prestigious, so it’s just very exciting stuff.”