Colorado Avalanche Tickets

Colorado Avalanche
Based in Denver, Colorado, The Colorado Avalanche is a professional ice hockey team. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1996 and 2001. The franchise was founded in Quebec and was the Quebec Nordiques until moving to Denver, Colorado in 1995. It won 8 division titles and went to the playoffs in their first 10 seasons in the NHL, with the streak ending in 2007. When relocated to Denver in 1995, the Colorado Avalanche played their home games at McNichols Arena.

The Quebec Nordiques were one of the World Hockey Association's (WHA) original teams when the league initiated in 1972. It was first awarded to a group in San Francisco, the team moved to Quebec City when the California deal soured because of financial and arena problems. During their seven WHA seasons, the Nordiques won the 1977 Avco World Trophy once, and lost the finals once, in 1975. In 1979, the franchise entered the NHL, along with the WHA's Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Winnipeg Jets.

Being the owner the COMSAT Entertainment Group organized its Denver sports franchises, the Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets under a separate contributory, Ascent Entertainment Group Inc. The Colorado Avalanche played their first game in the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver on October 6, 1995 winning 3?2 against the Detroit Red Wings. Led by Captain Joe Sakic and Marc Crawford as the head coach, the Avalanche got stronger when former Montreal Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy joined the team. Feeling humiliated for being left in the net during a Canadiens game against the Red Wings, Roy joined the Avalanche on December 6, 1995, together with ex-Montreal captain Mike Keane in a trade for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko. Roy proved to be a pivotal addition for Colorado in the years to come.

The Avalanche failed to reach the Stanley Cup Finals since 2001. In the 2001?02 season, the team finished the regular season and won the Northwest Division. Colorado had the league's lowest goals conceded. The NHL season was interrupted again for the 2002 Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Colorado Avalanche had nine players representing six countries. Canada won the ice hockey tournament and Rob Blake, Adam Foote and Joe Sakic won Gold medals. American Chris Drury got a silver medal. With the win, Blake and Sakic became members of the Triple Gold Club. The Avalanche advanced through the first two rounds of the playoffs winning a 4?2 series against the Vancouver Canucks and a 4?3 series against the San Jose Sharks. Patrick Roy had a shutout on the decisive game of each series.

The Avalanche established a notable rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings, partly having met each other five times in seven years in the Western Conference playoffs between 1996 and 2002. In 1996, the Colorado Avalanche won the series 4?2. During game six, as Red Wings player Kris Draper was skating toward the bench, he was checked into the boards face-first by Avalanche player Claude Lemieux. As a result, Draper had to undergo facial reconstructive surgery for five weeks. After the incident, Lemieux received many threats from Red Wings players and fans, including goalie Chris Osgood. The incident marked the beginning of a rivalry often considered one of the most intense in the NHL by the press and fans.

The Colorado Avalanche has the NHL record for the longest consecutive attendance sell out with 487. The streak began on November 9, 1995, on the Avalanche's eighth regular season home game during the 1995?96 season, with an attendance of 16,061 at the McNichols Sports Arena versus the Dallas Stars. Almost 11 years later, it ended on October 16, 2006, after a reported attendance of 17,681, which is 326 under capacity at Pepsi Center, before a game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Avalanche recorded their 500th home sellout in their 515th game in Denver on January 20, 2007, against the Detroit Red Wings.