HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hockey may be a cold-weather sport, but it’s now captured the hearts of hundreds of Hawaiian expatriates who call Las Vegas home.
The Golden Knights, who just won the Stanley Cup title, are the heart of the Las Vegas community.
The team estimates more than 200 season ticket members are from Hawaii or have ties to the island, and that number continues to grow.
“It’s great to have a community to come home to and keep our Hawaiian roots alive,” said superfan Leilani Le.
Re was born and raised in Lahaina, Maui.
The high cost of living in Hawaii forced her to move to Nevada four years ago.
She fell in love twice in the middle of the desert.
“I met a guy who took me to my first hockey game. He kind of created a monster and now I go to hockey all the time,” Lee said.
Growing up on the island, Re never imagined hockey in his future.
“It wasn’t snowing, so I couldn’t think of anything about being cold. So it was very different. I never thought I would love hockey this much, but I fell in love with it. , I love it because it’s so much fun,” Re said.
Through Hawaii’s close-knit community of hockey fans, Re met Marcella Granquist.
Granquist called Oahu home for 15 years until 2020.
“We had a hard time due to the coronavirus, but my mother needed more medical care, so we found our ninth island, Las Vegas, and made our home here,” Granquist said. said.
Granquist became a season ticket holder.
“I love hockey. I haven’t watched hockey in a long time and post-COVID we needed a picker-upper, so this was it for us…and with season tickets, it’s just like, along with everyone else. It’s great because you can have fun with it,” he said. Granquist.
The group hopes to continue spreading the aloha spirit throughout Southern Nevada.
Both women say they miss the islands, but consider Las Vegas home.
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