March 13, 1993
Despite a blustery snowstorm that had descended on the Delaware Valley around mid-morning, the Flyers game against Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings was to go on as scheduled.
The Kings were already in town, having played in Pittsburgh two days prior and the Flyers had gotten to the rink earlier in the morning. By the time the puck was dropped at 1:05 pm, there was already eight inches or more of snow on the ground and roughly about 2,000 die-hard hockey fans in the seats.
…And I was one of them.
For this game, I welcomed the sparse crowd as it allowed me the freedom to get closer and take more pictures during warm-ups with a borrowed fancy camera that I knew little about. Only about 10 of the pictures were decent – this was back in the day of film! – but I was lucky to take one at the right moment of the Great One as he pivoted right towards me.
Not a bad picture for a 22 year old novice!
With the game about to start, it had that pre-season feel to it due to all of the empty seats in the stands. Lou Nolan’s voice echoed throughout the building as he announced the starting lineups.
Once the play had started, you could hear the crisp passing and skating, even the cutting of the ice from the players skates. A few body checks along the boards got an ovation from the crowd but it was nothing like you would hear from the 17,000-plus that normally filled the Spectrum.
In that first period, the Kings scored first, however the Flyers answered back. Al Conroy scored to tie the game at one and the cheering echoed more through the empty spaces than it roared.
A few minutes later, a strange car accident type of crashing sound, came from the north end of the building. Fans scattered from that area of their seats and moved left, right, every which way. The storm and its high winds caused two 5-foot by 5-foot window panes to blow inward out of their frames, sending glass inside the Spectrum onto the concourse floor. One concession staff member received minor cuts on her arm from the flying glass in an attempt to cover herself. Thankfully, there was still a minute left in the period at the time of the blowout. If this freak accident had happened a few minutes later, there would have been a crowd of fans in that same concourse area and most likely, more injuries to fans and staff.
With the period over and the game tied at one, both teams headed to the locker room. There was glass along the concourse, cold wind whipping through the Spectrum and an apparent leak in the roof to boot. Fans in the section close to the damaged area were relocated and caution tape lined a large section of their previous seating area.
Ron Ryan, Chief Operating Officer for the Flyers along with NHL officials, postponed the game. Ryan stated that they just couldn't take the chance of any other injuries. With the damage done to the building, the Fire Marshal had also deemed the building unsafe.
It was believed to be the first NHL game to be stopped while in progress due to weather, according to then NHL spokesman Gary Meagher. The game was tied at one but was to be rescheduled. None of the statistics of the game would count and the game would be played in its entirety at a later date.
With the announcement from Lou Nolan that the game had been cancelled, a healthy rumbling of boos came from the stands, followed by a few soda cups hitting the ice. The 2,000 plus fans who made the trip in bad weather now had to head back to their cars, clean off the snow and carefully make it back home.
The game was rescheduled and it was played 19 days later, on April 1. The game was added to the end of the last East-coast road trip for the Kings. Despite the Flyers Mark Recchi scoring his 50th goal of the season midway through the first period, the Flyers fell to the Kings, 3-1. Gretzky had two assists and Kelly Hrudey turned away 26 of the 27 shots he faced, in front of 17,380 fans.
…And I was one of them.
Mike Watson is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @Mwats_99.
