Section 328 - From Passion to Podcast! Friends Flanagan and Roessler Create “Cheaters Never Win” Podcast for the Love of the Game

Vol. 16, No. 1 The official newsletter of the Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club Sep 2015

“CHEATERS NEVER WIN!” is a sound you may have heard if you have attended a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game at PNC Arena over the past fifteen years. It started out as a section with a group of friends and now it is a way of life that includes die hard Canes fans, a section of the arena, tailgating, a website, and a regular podcast. Mike Flanagan and Derrick Roessler produce a regular podcast geared toward the Carolina Hurricanes, hockey, and other topics. You can catch their podcasts on iTunes or skate to the website at www.section328.com.

The Section Section 328 is a group that has been together for quite some time. It started with Mike Flanagan and Jack Spencer. They did not know each other prior to being seated together, but fate took hold and others soon followed.

“At the time Jack was doing some work with Comedy Sportz (now called Comedy Worx).” Said Flanagan. “A small group of folks from Comedy Sportz had season tickets.”

Section 328 - Continued on page 4.

Section 328 – Not just a section at PNC Arena

What’s inside

Next CHBC Meeting: Thursday, October 1 at Backyard Bistro

2 President’s Message

George Brown / Stormy Mascot Coordinator

Section 328 34

6 Member News Jorge Alves

Upcoming Events 78

Mike Flanagan and Derrick Roessler of section 328.

John Gallaher

President president@hurricanesboosters.org

OPEN Vice President

Sandi Watts Treasurer

Chris Clark Secretary

Cathie McCorkle At-Large Member

Patrick Noonan At-Large Member

Taylor Stacey At-Large Member

Donna Jo Stephenson At-Large Member

Website Coordinator Mark Hall

Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club P. O. Box 20776

Raleigh, N. C. 27619 www.hurricanesboosters.org

For the latest CHBC news, follow us:

Send newsletter submissions to: southside_Johnny@hotmail.com

Newsletter deadline: Friday, Oct 30th for the November 2015 issue

@CHBCHurricanes

Page 2 Hurricane Warning September 2015

President’s Message / John Gallagher

Ready for a REDvolution? CANES IN 7!

It’s the beginning of another exciting season of Carolina Hurricanes hockey.

Your Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club will be there for all the action. With all the exciting additions to the Canes including veteran defenseman James Wisniewski, goaltender Eddie Lack, and Stanley Cup Champions Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom, the Canes made some upgrades to the line-up. A potential youth movement on defense with the likes of first round picks Noah Hanifin and Hayden Fleury will make this an exciting team to watch. I’m anxious to see another season get started.

The Canes rolled out a great marketing plan with “Join the REDvolution”. I hope everyone got a chance to grab a yard sign along with their opening night tickets to be ready.

You will notice a great cover story on the guys from section 328. One of the booster club’s objectives is to promote hockey in North Carolina. This includes promoting other fans who go above and beyond supporting the team. There are no bigger fans than those who reside in section 328 at PNC Arena.

The booster club has some exciting plans to roll out for the upcoming season as well. Our first meeting of the season will feature new Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Eddie Lack on Thursday, October 1st 7pm at the Backyard Bistro. Hope to see you all there.

We are excited to continue our great partnership with the Backyard Bistro. Your membership card for the 2015-16 will be good for a free non-alcoholic soft drink with meal purchase at all CHBC meetings this season. Backyard Bistro has been a great partner to us allowing us to utilize the Canes room at no added cost in addition to gift card donations for our fundraising efforts.

Lastly, your board of directors is working on releasing a member rewards program to provide nice prizes for those members who contribute to the club by bringing in new members and helping us with membership and merchandise sales at Hurricanes home games.

Thank you for your membership in the Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club.

Let’s GO CANES! And that’s hockey to me….

John Gallagher, President Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club

e-mail: president@hurricanesboosters.org

Officers & Directors

hurricanesboosters

George Brown, Stormy Mascot Operations

Page 3 • Hurricane Warning • September 2015

Ready to celebrate a Canes win, Stormy has the flag!

Originally from Winston-Salem, George Brown just completed his 10th season as Mascot Coordinator for the Carolina Hurricanes. Prior to joining the Carolina Hurricanes, George was the mascot for the Winston-Salem Warthogs minor league baseball team from 1997-2005. He also traveled the world as mascot to the Harlem Globetrotters. “From a young age, I was actually afraid of mascots.” explains George. “I was afraid of Wally the Warthog, which makes it funny when I became him. So when kids scream [when they see Stormy], I feel their pain.” George’s game day activities include setting up all of Stormy’s appearances throughout the game. This includes skits, birthday parties, suite visits, and video board messages. “The game for me is a script. It’s a show.” Said Brown. “I’m at a Hurricanes game, but I have never seen a Hurricanes game that I have worked.” Even though he rarely sees the actual game, George is cognizant of what is going on in the game based on the sounds he hears such as crowd reaction and the music that is played. In terms of skating, George had learned to skate at a young age. Still, when he earned the job as Stormy, he had to practice 2-3 hours a day to hone his craft while in costume. He also did adult learn-to-play hockey, which has helped him immensely in his job and created a love for the game of hockey. On average, Stormy makes about 170 appearances each year outside of games. On a Saturday in the summer, Stormy might have 8-9 appearances in just one day. Keeping Stormy odor-free is one of George’s many challenges. “Stormy is very easy to clean, but when you have back-to-back events scheduling those cleanings can be tricky.” George is on quite an active streak for Stormy appearances. In 10 seasons, he has yet to miss a game including pre-season, playoffs, and All-Star Game appearances. “I don’t want to miss a game.” Said George.

George Brown

The Man Behind Stormy Has Not Missed a Game in 10 Years!

Page 4 Hurricane Warning September 2015

“It’s a hockey-filled night every time we do a podcast.” Derrick Roessler, Section 328 Podcast

With section 328 filled with performers, it’s no surprise that the group became a vital part of the “loudest house in the NHL” with their many chants and choreography during the Canes’ peak years.

“I’ve always been a loud mouth obnoxious sports fan. It absolutely helps to have folks who aren’t afraid to be boisterous in front of a group of people.” Said Flanagan

Enter Derrick Roessler, who started going to a few games just after graduating high school during the 2001-02 season. Derrick knew Jack Spencer via Comedy Sportz and accompanied him to some games.

“The first hockey game I ever went to was a Canes game against the Blue Jackets.” Said Roessler. “That was my first real introduction to the sport as a serious fan. The Hurricanes have always been my favorite team.”

He became a full-time member of the section beginning in 2002-03 and never looked back.

The Chants Some of the phrases you will hear from Section 328 during Canes games include “Kill it…Kill it dead”, “Lordy, Lordy…WE WANT A SHORTY”, and the goalie chant. Oddly enough you can find a resource on the section 328 website at http://section328.com/2014/03/13/hockey-328-cheers-and-chants/ to view some oftheir famous chants and the rules behindthem.

“CHEATERS NEVER WIN!” has a history that predates Mike Flannagan’s involvement

Mike Flanagan contributes to the Lion King cam. 

with section 328 and was actually born elsewhere. “Cheaters Never Win” started my freshman year at Johns Hopkins at a basketball game after one guy fouled out in the first half.” Said Mike. “Then after every foul we started doing cheaters never win when the guys were shooting freethrows. I brought it to the first [Hurricanes] season and it was one of those [chants] that stood the test of time.” The goalie chant could easily get under a netminder’s skin, but rarely will you see a player react during a game. It happened just once during the 2011 NHL All-Star Game: “Marc-Andre Fleury is in net the first period and lets in three.”Explains Flanagan. “We had the opportunity to goalie chant Fleury.He stops, looks up at us (Section 328), throws his hands up and shrugs.” The group is self-policing. Knowing that PNC Arena promotes a family atmosphere, the people in section 328 are aware there can be children in the audience.

“We do have folks that will say, ‘Hey guys how about you not do that.” Said

Section 328 – Continued from page 1

“If you love the game and like talking about the game, do what you love. The more people we have talking about hockey, the better.” Mike Flanagan, Section 328 Podcast

Page 5 Hurricane Warning September 2015

Derrick. “Despite our reputation of being mere swilling loudmouths, if you combined us all you’d have one renaissance man.”

The Podcast Now in its third season, Mike and Derrick have morphed into seasoned broadcast veterans. Some of their guests have included Jeff Marek of Sportsnet, Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog, former Hurricanes forward Jeff O’Neill, Hurricanes President Don Waddell, Luke DeCock of the N&O, and John Forslund. Jeff Marek, of the -Merek vs Wyshynski podcast (click this link to check it out: http://www.sportsnet.ca/590/marek-vs-wyshynski/), was an early influence on the two. It was his encouragement that led to the creation of the podcast. Mike and Derrick started the podcast for the love of the game and an excuse to get together on a regular basis. While it may seem like two friends just having fun on the air, there is some preparation that takes place before each podcast.

The Section 328 Podcast is a weeklong undertaking that starts with notes and conversations between Mike and Derrick. On show day, the two get together around 5:30 or 6pm and do their guest interview. The guest interview normally lasts about 15-20 minutes. After that, it’s a dinnerbreak along with a rundown of notes. Thenit’s go-time with a loose and natural showthat has an intro, interview, and discussion.Upon conclusion, the completed podcast

gets uploaded. The two call it a night around 10:30pm in the evening. “It’s a hockey-filled night every time we do a podcast.” Said Derrick. The niche Derrick and Mike are targeting for their audience includes opposing team writers, bloggers, and broadcasters. However, the focal point tends to be the Carolina Hurricanes. The podcast has a sponsor, Taxi Taxi, that helps pay for production costs. Future plans also include expanding their website to monetize with google ads. In addition, section 328 has t-shirts for sale. “We are fortunate to have a sponsor.” Said Roessler. “We’re not getting rich, but it makes it possible to fund a hobby that doesn’t dig into our ability to buy season tickets.” When you weed through all the funny sayings and monkey business of the Section 328 Podcast, you will find a real intelligence for the game of hockey and a pair of broadcast pros that know their way around an interview. If you listen to the podcasts in succession, you will hear a progression of developing skills and chemistry between Mike and Derrick that rivals most professional sports broadcasts on today. “If you love the game and like talking about the game, do what you love.” Said Mike. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. You’ll get better.” Mike and Derrick spoke very highly of the Canes fan base. It is one of the motivating factors for the podcast. Meeting other fans that will come up to them and bring up the podcast is a reward unto itself. “We do this mostly because we like to talk hockey.” Said Derrick. “We love meeting hockey fans.”

“The more people we have talking about hockey, the better.” -Mike Flanagan

To learn more about section 328, check out their website: www.section328.com Follow them on Twitter @Section_328 and Facebook: facebook.com/section328

Section 328 – Continued from page 4

Page 6 Hurricane Warning September 2015

Meet Eddie Lack; Boosters Attend NHLBC Convention

Fast facts about Eddie Lack:

Twitter: @eddielack Number of NHL Seasons: 2 Record: 34-30-9-6

How acquired: 2015 NHL Entry Draft trade in exchange for Carolina’s 2015 3rd round pick and Carolina’s 7th round pick in 2016.

A native of Norrtalje, Sweden, Lack has a 2.43 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage in the NHL since making his debut with Vancouver on Oct. 6, 2013. Prior to that, Lack, an undrafted free agent, logged two seasons for Vancouver’s American Hockey League affiliates. Last season, Lack went 12-6-2 in 21 appearances from Feb. 24-April 9, and helped Vancouver maintain its playoff position.

Source: http://hurricanes.nhl.com/

Member News

Representatives at the 2015 NHLBC Convention: Front Row (L to R): Stacey Hacker, Sandi and David Watts; Back Row (L to R): Bo Dudley,

Brian Williamson, Chris Clark.

Meet Hurricanes goaltender Eddie Lack on Thursday, October 1st 7pm at the membership

meeting at Backyard Bistro.

The 2015-16 Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club lapel pin designed by

member and former President Mark Hall. Will be available to new and

renewing members in mid-October.

Page 7 Hurricane Warning September 2015

Alves played professional hockey in the ECHL with South Carolina, Greenville, Charlotte and Pensacola, and in the SPHL with Fayetteville and Asheville.

Jorge Alves, Carolina Hurricanes Equipment Manager

Jorge Alves was pursuing one dream of playing hockey professionally when he realized another dream of becoming a professional equipment manager. After working part-time with the Hurricanes as a stand-in goalie following the lockout, Jorge started a lengthy relationship with long-time equipment manager Wally Tatomir. “I went day in and day out learning everything that I could [from him].” Said Jorge. Jorge got his first break as head equipment manager for a team he was playing for, the Twin City Cyclones in Winston-Salem. He played a dual role of equipment manager and backup goalie. He made the transition to full-time equipment manager, but kept in touch with the Hurricanes. Jorge stayed close to home and worked for the Hurricanes in various roles for the opposing team locker rooms. His work did not go unnoticed. When Jorge was hired full-time with the Carolina Hurricanes, replacing Wally, he was one of the last to know. At the time, former GM Jim Rutherford tweeted the message out before Jorge got the news himself. It was a testament to Jorge’s work ethic over the prior three years as an assistant. There was no interview. He was the guy. Now in his third season, Jorge gets to live the dream of being a full-time NHL employee with an occasional role as a practice goalie for the Hurricanes. “This is really a dream come true because if you don’t make it to the highest level in professional sports, this is the next best thing.” Said Alves.

Two days in the life: Home and Away games 7am-7:30am Start to sharpen skates 9am Breakfast 11:30am-12:30pm Pre-game Skate/Practice 12:30pm Wiping skates, visors, wash jerseys Visor change-out (usually 2-4 visors require change) 1:30pm Lunch 2:30pm Laundry Game line stuff including jerseys 3pm Go for a run and then Shower 4pm Last-minute details/equipment changes, sharpen referee skates 7pm-9:30pm Game (usually a break for equipment managers unless there is an equipment failure) 10pm Sticks and Equipment packed 10:30pm Off to the airport; load up the plane (Equipment managers tend to be last to board) 11:30pm-12am Arrive in Washington, DC Washington Capitals Equipment manager brings their truck and Canes equipment managers depart plane and go right to Verizon Center 1am Unload for the game and do laundry 3am Work complete and get to hotel 8am Go to the rink for the morning skate, sharpen skates, and day starts over.

Equipping the Canes

Jorge Alves - Dedication Earns Him a Spot in the NHL

NEXT CHBC Membership Meeting:

Thursday, October 1st 7pm Location: Backyard Bistro

Guest Speaker: Hurricanes Goaltender

Eddie Lack

The Backyard Bistro is located at 1235 Hurricane Alley Way Raleigh, NC 27607 (across from the PNC Arena).

The Backyard Bistro is the official meeting place of the Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club

Hurricane Warning The Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club P. O. Box 20776 Raleigh, North Carolina 27619 www.hurricanesboosters.org

Name:_______________________________________________________ Birthday Month: _________________ Address:_______________________________________________City:___________ State:_______Zip:________ Phone:____________________________ E-mail:____________________________________________________ Season Ticketholder: Section:____Row: ____ Seat:_______

Name:_______________________________________________________ Birthday Month: _________________

Phone:____________________________ E-mail:____________________________________________________

Membership Benefits Include: Monthly Meetings with Guest Speakers. CHBC Storm Watch (away game parties), All-Star Party, and other Club Events. Contests with prizes including Hurricanes and Booster Club merchandise Exclusive Membership card Exclusive Booster Club Lapel Pin*

*Limited to 1 pin per individual membership and 2 pins for a Family Membership. Additional pins $5.00. Subject to availability.

Please mail completed application to: CHBC….P.O. Box 37726…Raleigh, NC 27627

2015 – Membership Application – 2016 Membership for the 2015-16 Season runs from July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016

Name: Birthday Month:

Name:_______________________________________________________ Birthday Month: _________________

Name:_______________________________________________________ Birthday Month: _________________

Memberships: (Please check one) Individual $15 _____ Family (2 adults+their children under 18 yrs.) $30 _____

Add-ons: (Please check all that apply) I would like my membership pack mailed $2 _____ Additional pins $5 each, Quantity:_____ _____

TOTAL: ______

Office Use ONLY:

Membership #: ________ Member #: ___________ Member #: ___________ Member #: ___________ Member #: ___________

Check #: __________ Cash: _____________ Date Rec'd:_________ Rec'd by:___________ Sent: ______________

The Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club (CHBC) is an educational, charitable, and social organization designed to support the sport of ice hockey in North Carolina. Specifically, we promote interest in the Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Club through our activities and publications. Our membership includes die-hard hockey fans… Hurricanes fans who want to meet other Hurricanes fans…Out of town fans who want to keep up with the Hurricanes…WHY NOT YOU? Membership Benefits: Receive exclusive membership card and lapel pin Individual memberships start at $15! Quarterly Newsletter Contests with prizes including Hurricanes and Booster Club merchandise Monthly meetings with guest speakers including Hurricanes' personnel and

members of the local media. Opportunity to attend the NHLBC Convention, which is held annually in a

different city the second weekend in August CHBC Storm Watch (away game get-togethers) held at various sites

throughout the Triangle area. Volunteer opportunities such as raising funds for Youth Hockey.

How to join: Memberships are based on the NHL season. Dues cover membership from July 1 – June 30 with a grace period to renew until September 30th. Bring application to the Booster Club table at PNC Arena during home games, or mail application and check payable to the Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club to: Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club, Inc. P.O. Box 37726 Raleigh, NC 27627