The score may not have been in our favor, but it was fun to watch our team! Photo by: Evan Berman

The focal point of our time in Raleigh was to attend the hockey game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning. While our team (the Lightning) unfortunately were crushed 6-1, it was fun to go and watch them play. This is the recap of our time at the game.

This recap is a part of the Hockey in Raleigh trip. For more on this trip, follow these links:

Intro

Hotel: Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena

Visiting Beautiful College Campuses

Tampa Bay Lightning Game (This Article)

3 Days in Raleigh

Food and Drinks in Raleigh

Conclusion

Purchasing Tickets:

I purchased 3 tickets on Vivid Seats. This article will focus on the experience and I will dig deeper into the different platforms I frequently use to purchase tickets in a separate article. The seats were solid, we were at goal level in the 3rd level on the side where the Lightning shot twice.

The tickets cost $263.13 in total ($87.71 each). While the money was not well-spent as we were blown out 6-1 (check), but the seats were at least solid. We did not have a good time, though that was the Lightning’s fault not ours. 🙁

I purchased the tickets using my Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business Card and earned 1x AAdvantage Miles (263 Capital One Miles earned). I was meeting the signup bonus on the card and while the earning was only 1x, the end reward (80,000 miles) was great. These miles are very valuable and I have used a ton of them recently! I also clicked through the Rakuten shopping portal and earned 2x Membership Rewards Points on this purchase, equal to 526 points.

Evan’s Thoughts:

Unlike with a flight or hotel review, I don’t have set criteria for reviewing a concert. Instead, I’ll provide my thoughts– what stood out to me either positive or negative– and talk about my overall thoughts and share any funny stories.

The Experience:

As I mentioned in my recap of the Lightning game versus the Dallas Stars, I love hockey and am a huge Tampa Bay Lightning fan. The Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh, North Carolina, a 5 hour drive from Charleston. Here are a few highlights of the experience:

• The Carolina Hurricanes played extremely well.
• The atmosphere was rocking– if you were a Hurricanes fan or just a fan of hockey in general, it was a raucous environment. Unfortunately, as a Lightning fan, this was not the ideal experience.
• As with my previous review of the Lightning versus Stars game, I sat in the Upper Level. This is a change from my regular seats but the view of the entire ice is impressive! As mentioned before, there really are no bad seats at a hockey game!

While this was not the best outing for my team and the game was not fun to watch as a Lightning fan, it’s always great to go to hockey games!

Food and Drinks:

We had lunch before attending the game, so during the game all we had were a beer each. I enjoyed the beer cups as the bottom was magnetised to hold the contents and had a Hurricanes design. I enjoyed it, that is, after I realized that pressing up on the bottom would cause the beer to spill on me!

As we had no food, I cannot comment on the quality of it.

The Seats:

As mentioned in the booking section, our seats were 5 rows up, in the upper deck. As usual, we strategically chose to be on the side where the Lightning shot twice. While I usually opt for better (closer) seats, these offered a solid view. The seats were decently comfortable, certainly nothing to complain about.

Recap:

I saw my Lightning Bay Lightning play and lose greatly to the Carolina Hurricanes with family at Raleigh Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina in March. We had a nice time being together, though the experience was less than stellar given our team was thumped by the Canes. 🙁 We would certainly head back to Raleigh Arena to watch a game in an instant. Stay tuned for my full recap of Raleigh as well as more information on booking concert and sporting event tickets!

Evan