The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s regular season is winding down which is reason enough for our devoted fan base to flock to one of the 25 arenas our teams play in, but Family Day resulted in an incredible surge in attendance across the league. In four instances teams more than doubled their average turnout.
GOJHL Commissioner Brent Garbutt says the numbers were very impressive. “I want to thank fans from across all three conferences for making our league a part of their Family Day celebrations. There were so many choices for people to make and many decided to include us in their plans. On behalf of all our teams and the league office I want to personally thank everyone who enjoyed some great junior hockey on Monday.” Garbutt adds that in all likelihood there were some first-time fans who decided to come out and have a look at the league. “I’m sure they were impressed by the quality of hockey they saw and I welcome them to become frequent fans going forward. Everyone is invited to enjoy the product our teams produce.”
Teams had various promotions to increase attendance on Monday and the efforts obviously paid off. “All the home teams did a fantastic job of promoting their Family Day events on social media and at their arenas in the games leading up to the holiday. We are confident fans will continue to support their local teams once the playoffs begin next week.”
The GOJHL’s regular season concludes on Sunday, February 26 and first-round playoff matchups and schedules will be announced on the 27th or 28th. Garbutt says he expects the upcoming postseason to be entertaining and competitive in all three conferences.
The first Family Day holiday was observed on February 18 of 2008 and falls on the third Monday.
