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CBC
a day ago
- Business
- CBC
Oilers fans find a home in Calgary bars as Edmonton takes another shot at the Cup
About an hour before every Edmonton Oilers game for the next few weeks, Ernie Tsu plans to stroll down the street in Calgary for a cup of sake. Wearing his Oilers jersey, he'll then walk from the restaurant back to join a raucous crowd of Edmonton fans at his bar in the heart of Calgary's Red Mile, the name given to the stretch of 17th Avenue during the Flames' 2004 Stanley Cup run. "I'm pretty superstitious," Tsu, owner of Trolley 5 Restaurant and Brewery, said in the lead-up to the Stanley Cup final between the Oilers and the Florida Panthers. Edmonton won Game 1 on Wednesday. "Since I've been having sake there, they haven't lost [a series]." 2 large flags Trolley 5, a not-so-secret hub for Oilers fans in rival Calgary, has flourished in the team's consecutive runs for the Cup. Two large flags — one for the Oilers, another for Alberta — hang from the rafters of the three-storey bar. Aside from a few framed flaming C jerseys plastered to the wall, it's evident Oil Country has found a home while the local franchise remains excluded from the playoffs for the third straight year. As the Flames continue to rebuild, the Oilers have provided another springtime boom for Calgary sports bars. The Oilers surged past the Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars in the first three rounds. Tsu said Calgary's community of Oilers fans has grown organically since he opened the bar nine years ago. He now likens it to a family. Earlier in the week, he took 30 diehard followers out for dim sum as a thank you. This year, he said, more Oilers fans have seemed engaged in light of surging patriotism. "I'd say there's more people, and I think with the U.S. tariffs, you've got more people supporting a Canadian team," he said. 'Never be a fan' Not all Calgary bar owners are as thrilled by another successful Oilers run. "I'm a Matthew Tkachuk-Florida fan for the rest of the season," said Mike Shupenia, referring to the Panthers' captain and former Flames player. "I will never be an Oilers fan." But he'll take the business. The owner and manager of Side Street Pub and Eatery in Calgary's Kensington neighbourhood suspects his restaurant would be just as busy if the Flames were gunning for the Cup. During last year's finals, people were lining up for tables as early as 3 p.m. The Calgary-raised Shupenia is begrudgingly offering service to Oilers faithful this year. A handful of red goal lights around the bar go off every time Edmonton scores. And the bar gives a boxing championship belt decorated in Oilers blue and orange to the winner of a raffle, with five-dollar entries given to a children's food charity. For now, Shupenia is bracing for perhaps the busiest few weeks of the year. But he'll keep his fingers crossed behind the bar for the Panthers to claim their second straight Cup. If not, he said, "I don't think we'll ever be able to live it down."
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Oilers fans find a home in Calgary bars as Edmonton takes another shot at the Cup
Ernie Tsu in his bar Trolley 5, the home of the Edmonton Oilers' fan base in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, June 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol CALGARY — About an hour before every Edmonton Oilers game for the next few weeks, Ernie Tsu plans to stroll down the street in Calgary for a cup of sake. Wearing his Oilers jersey, he'll then walk from the restaurant back to join a raucous crowd of Edmonton fans at his bar in the heart of Calgary's Red Mile, the name given to the stretch of 17th Avenue during the Flames' 2004 Stanley Cup run. 'I'm pretty superstitious,' Tsu, owner of Trolley 5 Restaurant and Brewery, said in the lead-up to the Stanley Cup final between the Oilers and the Florida Panthers. Edmonton won Game 1 on Wednesday. 'Since I've been having sake there, they haven't lost (a series).' Trolley 5, a not-so-secret hub for Oilers fans in rival Calgary, has flourished in the team's consecutive runs for the Cup. Two large flags — one for the Oilers, another for Alberta — hang from the rafters of the three-storey bar. Aside from a few framed flaming C jerseys plastered to the wall, it's evident oil country has found a home while the local franchise remains excluded from the playoffs for the third straight year. As the Flames continue to rebuild, the Oilers have provided another springtime boom for Calgary sports bars. The Oilers surged past the Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars in the first three rounds. Tsu said Calgary's community of Oilers fans has grown organically since he opened the bar nine years ago. He now likens it to a family. Earlier in the week, he took 30 diehard followers out for dim sum as a thank you. This year, he said, more Oilers fans have seemed engaged in light of surging patriotism. 'I'd say there's more people, and I think with the U.S. tariffs, you've got more people supporting a Canadian team,' he said. Not all Calgary bar owners are as thrilled by another successful Oilers run. 'I'm a Matthew Tkachuk-Florida fan for the rest of the season,' said Mike Shupenia, referring to the Panthers' captain and former Flames player. 'I will never be an Oilers fan.' But he'll take the business. The owner and manager of Side Street Pub and Eatery in Calgary's Kensington neighbourhood suspects his restaurant would be just as busy if the Flames were gunning for the Cup. During last year's finals, people were lining up for tables as early as 3 p.m. The Calgary-raised Shupenia is begrudgingly offering service to Oilers faithful this year. A handful of red goal lights around the bar go off every time Edmonton scores. And the bar gives a boxing championship belt decorated in Oilers blue and orange to the winner of a raffle, with five-dollar entries given to a children's food charity. For now, Shupenia is bracing for perhaps the busiest few weeks of the year. But he'll keep his fingers crossed behind the bar for the Panthers to claim their second straight Cup. If not, he said, 'I don't think we'll ever be able to live it down.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025. Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press
CTV News
2 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
‘It's Canada we want to win the Stanley Cup': Calgary hockey fans swallow pride to support Oilers cup run
Alberta is hosting Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and many Calgarians are supporting their main rivals the Edmonton Oilers. Around four decades worth of Battles of Alberta are being put aside for many hockey fans in the Calgary area who are supporting the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final. As Alberta hosts the first two games, Oiler blue and orange jerseys filled Calgary pubs and sports bars, while just west of the city, the Town of Cochrane was flying the Oilers flag -- all while a wildly popular Calgary cupcake shop did blockbuster business selling Oiler-themed sweet treats. 'I would say at least over a hundred dozen right now maybe more, just in Calgary,' said Jenna Clarke with Crave Cupcakes. 'In Edmonton they're doing lots more.' It's business and pleasure for some hockey fans. 'These weekday games for us, there isn't an empty seat in the house with all three floors open,' said Ernie Tsu, the owner of Trolley 5, which has been the epicentre of the Red Mile whenever the hometown Flames make a playoff run over the years. 'Sports brings people together,' said Tsu, who wore an Oilers jersey to work Wednesday. Ernie Tsu, June 4, 2025 Trolley 5 owner Ernie Tsu, who hosted many Red Mile parties when the Flames made playoff runs, said the Oilers' run to the Stanley Cup final in 2025 has been great for business. (Alesia Fieldberg, CTV Calgary) The Red Mile might have turned into a kilometre and a half worth of orange and blue, but Tsu said he can work with a long Oiler playoff run in 2025. 'Business-wise yeah,' he said. 'Game 7 would be great -- but I'd just love to see the cup come back to Canada.' Who to cheer for is an easy choice for some. 'It means a lot to me that the Town of Cochrane can get behind the Oilers and celebrate them getting to the cup,' said Carter Fehr, the Cochrane boy who got to raise the Oiler flag Wednesday. Being born outside Calgary often makes who you cheer for an easier decision. 'Oilers! I'm from Edmonton and they are the best team in Alberta and they're Canada's team,' said Calgarian Faizel Poonja. Even some Flames fans are temporarily switching allegiance to their rivals from the north. 'Oilers did get the best of them this year so that's why,' said Calgarian Dominic Labelle. 'They beat my favourite team, so I gotta see them win the Stanley.' But the decades of hostility between Alberta's two NHL teams makes it tougher for others. 'Oh yeah, it's a struggle,' said Mike in Kensington. Whether you revel the rivalry or are feeling patriotic.. there's someone to cheer for. Edmonton has twice as many Canadian-born players as the Panthers But Florida has three former Flames (Sam Bennet, A.J. Greer, and Matthew Tkachuk). 'I honestly am split. If the Oilers win I'll be happy for Canada but sad for Flames fans,' Mike said, perhaps echoing what thousands of hockey-mad Calgarians were feeling Wednesday. Alberta is hosting Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and many Calgarians are supporting their main rivals the Edmonton Oilers. Alberta is hosting Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and many Calgarians are supporting their main rivals the Edmonton Oilers. After all, it's been 35 years since the Oilers' last (and fifth) Stanley Cup victory -- and 32 years since any Canadian team took the cup. Those stark numbers -- combined with the recent aggravations of trade relationships with the United States -- have created a perfect hockey storm for Calgary hockey fans who might otherwise call themselves lifelong Oiler haters. 'You have to cheer for the Canadian team,' said Calgarian Marian Hijkoop. 'It's Canada we want to win the Stanley Cup' said Labelle. Game 2 is Friday in Edmonton, before both teams head to Florida for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Thursday.
