Best cities in NY for hockey fans: Where the game thrives
While the Buffalo Sabres have struggled to make it to the playoffs in over a decade, Buffalo was named one of the best cities for hockey fans in a recently released study by WalletHub. The study compared over 75 U.S. cities across two divisional categories — the National Hockey League and Division 1 Men's NCAA hockey — based on 20-plus key metrics that make up a good hockey city, including average ticket prices, stadium capacity and performance level of each city's teams.
"Hockey is one of the most underappreciated sports in America, but its popularity is steadily growing, bringing in record-breaking revenue and attendance," WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. "The best cities for hockey provide good opportunities to watch high-performing NHL teams in person, and sometimes NCAA teams as well."
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Here's what to know.
Why Buffalo is one of the best hockey cities
Buffalo's downtown is a hub for all things hockey as it's centered around the KeyBank Center, LECOM Harborcenter and its outdoor skating availability in the winter. The Queen City is also home to a multitude of hockey teams and rinks scattered throughout the area.
WalletHub focused on the Buffalo Sabres and the men's Canisius University Golden Griffins team in their study, but other college-level Buffalo-area teams include the Buffalo State Bengals and University at Buffalo Ice Bulls, both men's and women's.
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According to the study, Buffalo has the second-lowest average ticket price for an NHL game, is tied for 4th lowest when it comes to the minimum season ticket price for NCAA games and has the 3rd highest NHL stadium capacity.
Which other NY cities made the list
New York City : Ranked No. 4, home to the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Long Island University Sharks
Lewiston: Ranked No. 26, home to the Niagara University Purple Eagles
Hamilton: Ranked No. 28, home to the Colgate University Raiders
West Point: Ranked No. 31, home to the Army Black Knights
Potsdam: Ranked No. 38, home to the Clarkson Golden Knights
Ithaca: Ranked No. 42, home to the Cornell Big Red
Rochester: Ranked No. 46, home to the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers
Canton: Ranked No. 50, home to the St. Lawrence University Saints
Schenectady: Ranked No. 55, home to the Union College Garnet Chargers
Troy: Ranked No. 65, home to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers
WalletHub's top 10 cities for hockey fans
Every city in WalletHub's top 10 is represented by at least one NHL team. Here's which cities are the best for hockey fans, according to the report:
Boston, Massachusetts
Detroit, Michigan
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
New York, New York
Newark, New Jersey
Denver, Colorado
Sunrise, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Buffalo, New York
St. Louis, Missouri
See the list: These NY cities named some of the best baseball cities in the country
How WalletHub measured hockey fan-friendliness
WalletHub compared 76 U.S. cities based on 21 key metrics grouped into NHL and Division 1 Men's NCAA hockey categories. Here's which elements went into the rankings.
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The NHL category took a look at these factors:
Number of teams
Performance level of teams
Number of Stanley Cup wins
Number of NHL Division Championship wins
Number of Hall of Fame head coaches
Franchise value
Average ticket price for a game
Fan engagement
Number of coaches in the past 10 seasons (2015/2016-2024/2025)
Stadium capacity
Attendance
Popularity index
The NCAA category included these elements:
Number of D1 teams
Performance level of D1 teams
Number of D1 championship wins
Number of D1 conference regular season championship wins
Number of Hall of Fame head coaches
Minimum season-ticket price for a D1 game
College hockey fan engagement
Number of coaches in the past 10 seasons
College hockey stadium capacity
Data used to create the ranking was collected as of April 30, 2025 and the information was sourced from several entities, such as ESPN, U.S. College Hockey Online, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and each team's website.
Emily Barnes on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Network's New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on X and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Best cities in NY for hockey fans: Where the game thrives
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Just missed the cut: DT Deone Walker, DB Jordan Hancock, CB Dorian Strong Players who 'aged out' of consideration: O'Cyrus Torrence, TE Dalton Kincaid, RB Ray Davis, IOL Alec Anderson, OT Tylan Grable, LB Joe Andreessen (Top photo of Keon Coleman: Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)
