The Edmonton Oilers are... America's team?
Wearing 1990s-era copper and blue Oilers' throwback jerseys, Gabriel and her husband, Sam, walked towards Amerant Bank Arena ahead of the faceoff of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
But, there's a little more to this story. Gabriel grew up in Alberta, all right. As in Calgary, Alberta. Does she still have family there? Is her love for the Oilers a dirty secret?
'I do have family there,' she said. 'They all know I'm here.
'I've always loved the Oilers, since I was a kid. Since the Gretzky, Messier, Kurri and Fuhr times.'
Her husband has only gotten into hockey over the past couple of years. Let's face it, the guy had absolutely no choice when it came to which team he was going to support.
'I've really been getting into it,' he said.
Will they be back for Game 4?
'We'll see about Game 4,' said Sonya. 'We'll see how they do tonight.'
The Gabriels are just part of the group of Oilers fans from across America who have travelled to Sunrise, Fla. for Game 3.
Jay McIntyre and his son, Kyle, are rabid hockey fans from Philadelphia.
'We're every NHL team's fan,' said Jay (Just not the Flyers or Panthers, it seems). 'We've actually been to 23 venues. We were actually going to go to Rogers Place this year, but we couldn't make it.'
'Watching games that come from there, they just look so cool,' said Kyle.
Getting to Edmonton is task No.1 left on their hockey bucket list, though.
'I want to see McDavid lift the Cup for the first time,' said Kyle. 'The Panthers have already won it last year, so I'm, like, meh. It's somebody else's turn.'
'I wanted to see them win last year,' said Jay. 'But I'm here to watch them this year.'
Shelly Shively is from Elk Rapids, Michigan. She arrived at the arena wearing an Oilers home blue jersey. The Red Wings? Not her thing.
She became an Oilers fan in 1987, during the Rendez-Vous series, which saw an NHL All-Star Team face the Soviet national side.
'A friend of mine was already a hockey fan, and she asked me, 'Pick your player,'' Shively said. 'So I picked my player, and it was Mark Messier. So, the next day, I looked in the paper to see who he played for.'
And an Oilers fan was born. See, Messier's icy cold stare was actually endearing to some people.
She's been to Edmonton to cheer on the team. And she's feeling good about the series. And, maybe, if things turn bad for the Oilers, she can aim an icy stare towards the visiting team's bench in order to get them to pick things up
Why is the NHL tilted in Florida's favour? Lightning, Panthers hold six-year run on Eastern Conference dominance
The long trek to Sunrise from Edmonton to cover the Oilers-Panthers final
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