Tri-City Canucks fans are not the only people excited about the team's historic run to the Stanley Cup finals this spring.
Local businesses are thrilled to experience major increases in sales as hockey enthusiasts flock to pubs and bars at a time of year when sunny weather usually keeps customers away.
For Cheryl Semenuik, managing partner of the Golden Spike Pub in Port Moody, the extra business will go a long way toward improving her bar's bottom line.
"It has been fantastic," she said. "Typically, about an hour to an hour and a half before the game, we are full, standing room only. It is a good, happy crowd."
When Semenuik does her budgeting at the beginning of the year, she generally accounts for about two playoff rounds in her numbers. With the two extra rounds this season, she said she will now have extra money at her disposal for business upgrades, such as putting in a new floor or buying new tables and chairs.
"We will put the money back into fixing the place up," she said. "It will help with improvements to the business."
Over at Samz Pub and Liquor Store in Port Coquitlam, business has also been brisk. Ali Sunderji said that usually at this time of year, when the sun is out and backyard barbecue season is starting, it can be difficult to get people in the door. The extended playoff run has helped his sales, particularly with the liquor store side of his business.
"Everyone is coming out because they want to be a part of a good atmosphere," he said. "It is bringing people into the pub at a time when they may not normally be in here."
With between 45 and 50% of his sales coming from the food menu, the fact the games are starting at 5 p.m. - dinner time for most people - has helped business, he added.
And pubs and restaurants are not the only businesses to see increased profits thanks to the Canucks' Stanley Cup run.
Team merchandise has been flying off the shelves at sporting retail outlets as well and Jason van Bergen, owner of PoCo's Corner Sports, said he has had trouble keeping 'Nucks products in stock.
"It is literally off the charts in terms of demand," he said. "I am getting dozens of calls weekly, if not daily."
Ryan Kesler and Alexandre Burrows jerseys have been a particularly hot commodity and his suppliers will not be able to re-stock his shelves until July at the earliest. T-shirts and other Canucks apparel can still be brought in but get snapped up as soon as they are put on the rack, he added.
But the real increase in business may not come for a couple more months. Van Bergen said he expects skates and equipment sales will see significant increases come September, when people young and old, inspired by the Stanley Cup playoffs, decide to take up hockey.
"I have been observing trends in the hockey community for a few years and there was a big spike after the Olympics, not only with kids but adults taking up hockey for the first time," he said. "I would anticipate that again, especially going into September."
The only downside to the Canucks playoff run, according to Van Bergen, is the fact that after the puck drops on game day, customers disappear.
"But that is a small price to pay," he said.
Mike Hind, executive director of the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce, said he has noticed that while in the past many local residents would travel downtown for the playoff festivities, more people are staying closer to home.
Public events have been held all over the Tri-Cities and there are many fun activities people can participate in locally, he added.
"That, I think, is a direct result of the 2010 Olympics," he said. "That has had a huge effect on our psyche and is one of the legacies - people congregating in public areas to watch big sporting events."
He said chamber members from the restaurant and sports apparel industries have all been reporting major increases in sales, something Hind expects to continue as long as the series does.
