WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Six friends in their late 20s, most of whom grew up in the Philadelphia area but are now spread all over the country, have a reunion or two each year and travel to some Flyers road games.
This year, they bypassed such desirable locations as South Florida and Anaheim, Calif. Instead, they reunited by starting their trek Tuesday in Winnipeg, of all places. Their journey also will take them to western Canada for games in Edmonton on Thursday and Calgary on Saturday.
Never mind that those three Canadian cities usually have temperatures that hover around Braydon Coburn's jersey number - five, as in Fahrenheit.
Never mind that those cities are more about the wilderness than tourist attractions.
They wanted to experience the electric atmosphere provided by true fans. In cities where hockey is No. 1. By far.
"Canada is hockey," said Ricky Schwalm, a Charlotte, N.C., resident who grew up in Gilbertsville, Pa., just outside Pottstown, along with three of the other men on the trip.
"We figured in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Edmonton, we'll see some very passionate fans, but we want to let them know that the Flyers have a passionate fan base," said Jon Jacob, 29, who grew up in Medford, N.J., and now lives in Charlotte, where he is a financial analyst for the Bank of America.
As they attended Tuesday's thriller in Winnipeg's ear-splitting MTS Centre, five wore Flyers jerseys and the other was dressed in an all-orange suit and orange-and-black top hat. They watched the Flyers score the tying goal with 9.7 seconds left in regulation en route to a riveting 5-4 overtime win.
"We were 10 seconds from a loss and a night of Jets fans throwing a little trash talk our way," Jacob said. "It was a huge swing at the end and a great way to start the trip."
Jacob called Jets fans "very receptive. A lot of them are kind of surprised we came out to Winnipeg, but it's very cool we get to see the visiting environment."
The six men have been traveling to Flyers road games for six seasons.
"After we get done this year, there will be 13 arenas we've all been to," Schwalm said. "We're trying to get to them all."
Schwalm, 29, who also works at Bank of America in Charlotte, said the trip was planned last summer.
"When the schedule came out, I said, 'Canada for a week. It's a bank holiday in February. We've got to go,' " he said. "None of us are married yet or have kids, so if we are going to make this trip, now is the time to do it."
