The Return of the Jets

December 26th, 1992.

That's the last time the Winnipeg Jets traveled to Minnesota for a NHL game. That night they lost to the North Stars 5-4 in Bloomington. When the game was done nobody at the time thought it would be nearly 20 years until Winnipeg came back to town for their next NHL contest.

But with the North Stars moving to Dallas at the end of the 92-93 season and Winnipeg leaving for Phoenix four seasons later it would be years until a Winnipeg hockey team would play an NHL game in Minnesota.

When it was announced this past summer the Atlanta Thrashers were moving to Winnipeg one of the first games I looked for on the schedule was when the Jets would come to St. Paul to play the Wild.

That game happened Thursday night and I was curious to see what the fan turnout would be like. With Winnipeg only eight hours north of the Twin Cities I expected some Jets fans to make the trip.

What I ended up seeing was one of the best NHL crowds I have seen in years.

As I walked into Xcel Energy Center there was a sea of blue and white as Jets fans were walking around, getting settled in waiting for the game to start. The arena had a buzz that is usually reserved for a playoff game or when an original six team comes to town.

At 6:15 P.M. the first "Go Jets Go" chant started throughout the arena. It would be 15 more minutes before either NHL team took the ice for the pregame skate.

During warmups I went behind the Winnipeg bench to not only watch the pregame skate but talk to some Jets fans who made the trip down south. As I talked to them the word I kept hearing was vindication. How a wrong was finally made right after 15 years.

One couple I talked to, Vic & Marianne Davis, traveled from Northwest Ontario to Minnesota for the game only because they couldn't get any tickets in Winnipeg.

They met in college at the University of Winnipeg and were fans before the team left for Phoenix. They say the return of the Jets has brought a buzz & energy to the city of Winnipeg that it hasn't seen since 1996.

It hasn't taken long for Winnipeg fans to become attached to players on the Jets roster. Judging by the jerseys the fans were wearing the most popular players on the Jets roster are Dustin Byfuglien, Zach Bogosian & Blake Wheeler.

While those three players may have been the most popular jerseys being worn there were a good amount of old Winnipeg Jets jerseys with the names Selanne, Tkachuk & Steen on the backs.

Once the game started the intensity in the building was similar to what one would experience to a Stanley Cup playoff game. Chants of "Let's Go Wild" by Minnesota fans were constantly answered by Winnipeg fans chanting "Go Jets Go."

Both teams traded goals throughout the game and if you went by the crowd reaction after someone scored you would not have been able to tell which team was the home team.

In the 3rd period tempers started to flare and a fight broke out between Winnipeg's Tanner Glass & Minnesota's Darroll Powe. After the fight was done Minnesota fans started chanting "USA, USA." That's something I never heard at an NHL game.

The game would go to a shootout with the Jets eventually winning 4-3. After the game I was able to talk to a couple of the Jets players about the crowd support they received on the road.

"It was awesome" said Jets forward Blake Wheeler. "Not only were they there but they were noisy and you knew they were there. It's always fun to come on the road and know your fans travel well and not make it easy for the home crowd."

"Before warmups we were sitting in the locker room hear chants of Go Jets Go." said Jets forward Jim Slater. "Our fans are unbelievable and it's great seeing all the Jets jerseys in the stands. Being from Atlanta it isn't something you see pretty often and to have it on our side is definitely a big plus."

Goaltender Chris Mason added "We came out in warmups and they were all by the entrance on the ice chanting Go Jets Go and it was great. We've had unbelievable support on the road all year so it was nice to get a win for the fans."

As I was leaving Xcel there were Jets fans walking around the arena cheering and celebrating the victory over Minnesota. You would have thought they had just won the Stanley Cup instead of a shootout.

That's a scene I guarantee you never saw when the franchise was based in Atlanta.