If you were in attendance for Game 3 between the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, you deserve a pat on the back and presumably some herbal tea with honey. The Bell Centre has always been one of the loudest buildings in the NHL during postseason runs, but things reached an entirely new level on May 10.
Sometimes crowd noise doesn't translate well on television. Open-air events come to mind, where there's no ceiling in place to trap the cheers. Some massive soccer venues come to mind, as do NFL stadiums that can hold upwards of 80,000 people. The Bell Centre just about became an open-air venue during Game 3, though, with fans doing everything in their power to blow the roof off of the 30-year-old arena.
According to Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic, Canadiens supporters in attendance reached a whopping 112 decibels at times during Game 3. We aren't acousticians here at A Winning Habit, but we know really, really loud when we hear it. And this? This is a remarkable amount of noise for a group of hockey fans to make.
The announced attendance for the contest was 20,962. At that sound level, everyone in the building felt like they had headphones crammed into their ears and cranked to the absolute loudest volume. They felt like they were standing next to an ambulance that had its sirens cranked to the max, or like they went to a Limp Bizkit concert with that one guy who just has to stand as close as possible, next to the speakers.
Buffalo Sabres have been an excellent road team but the noise got to them in Game 3
Buffalo was a tremendous road team during the regular season. Only the Colorado Avalanche won more games away from home, but the absolute level of ruckus seemed to rattle the Sabres players as the game wore on. This isn't a squad that is easily shaken, either. They took every game in Boston by a combined score of 13-3. But the crowd in Montreal just hits different during the playoffs. Game 3 was a reminder of that.
Credit Tage Thompson for trying to take the advantage away early, finding the back of the net less than a minute into the game. That would be the last time the Sabres had any semblance of control during the contest, though, and Canadiens fans took every opportunity to show their support during the blowout win.
Game 4 is in Montreal on Tuesday night. If Sunday was any indication, fans with tickets to that one may want to consider bringing earplugs... or at least a hot beverage to help soothe their shredded vocal cords.
If you were in attendance for Game 3, we'd love to hear about your experience down in the comments. Did television do this one justice? Were you able to speak on Monday? Let us know!
Add us as a preferred source on Google