What happens when a minor league hockey team freaks out over a home game?
The Vermilion County Bobcats failed to show up for a game against the Quad City Storm on Sunday, leaving everyone puzzled.
Fans had traveled to Danville, Illinois for the weekend’s game, and Quad City took to the track.
The national anthem was played as usual and the referees were primed with the puck, but after a two-minute delay and another five-minute wait, the match was forfeited.
The Vermilion County coach was nowhere to be seen, there was no strength coach, and only one player was ready to hit the ice.
Videos surfaced on social media showing the Quad’s position on one half of the rink to the empty dugout, net and ice on the other side with fans saying how awkward the situation was.
To give the fans something to remember before the three-hour drive home, the away team invited them onto the ice for some fun.
Their tickets costing between $7-13 each didn’t go completely to waste.
Quad City President Brian Rothenberger said, “This is really what minor professional sports are all about.
“They were excited to be able to do it. I think it meant a lot to the fans who were there, especially some of the younger kids who were dying to skate.”
The Bobcats had been skating on thin ice before this incident, having lost 77 of 86 games in its two-year existence.
The team revealed on Thursday that it has ‘ceased operations’
Ellen Tully, owner of the Vermillion County Bobcats, said, “It’s a sad day for hockey fans in Danville, but I want to thank them personally for their loyalty to the Bobcats over the past two seasons.”
The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) will now have only 10 teams in its division.
