3 Teams the Hurricanes Should play in Carter-Finley Stadium

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RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 31: General view of the game between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the East Carolina Pirates at Carter-Finley Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

An outdoor hockey game is rumored to be coming for the Canes in the future.

I’ve written before about the need for an outdoor game in Raleigh. It’s no secret that it would be an awesome event for hockey in the area, on the scale of the All-Star game back in 2011. The NHL always makes a spectacle of these events and the weekend would an opportunity to promote the league and show they aren’t just a northeast league.

It seems the NHL agrees, as the idea of an outdoor game in Raleigh is back in the news as reports came out that the NHL was in town this week to “iron out plans” for an outdoor game for the Hurricanes.

Sources told me the NHL is in town today (hence the cones at Carter-Finley) and they are ironing out plans for Raleigh to get an outdoor game. One source said it could come together quickly.
— Cory Lavalette (@corylav) November 25, 2019

With each passing day, it seems more and more likely that an outdoor game is coming to the Land of the Longleaf Pine. The Canes are a young team on the rise and the legal issue blocking alcohol sales in the stadium has been dealt with. The state had a groundswell of hockey success last year. Even on the day of the announcement, UNC and NC State’s club hockey teams played a game in front of about 5,000 fans. it’s not a matter of “if” but “when.”

This made begin to wonder, “Who would the Canes play in such a game?” The options are numerous, each offering their own intrigue to the matchup. from bitter rivals, old and new, to nontraditional wild card options.

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