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The Carolina Hurricanes have decided to put their popular beer skate on ice, at least for the time being.
This quirky beer glass, designed to resemble a hockey skate, became an instant sensation during Game 1 of the Hurricanes’ second-round playoff series against the Flyers. Its debut over the weekend quickly caught the attention of fans and went viral.
However, the Hurricanes were caught off guard by the overwhelming demand. By the middle of the second period, every last mug had been snapped up, leaving many fans empty-handed and eager for more.
According to Adam Hoffman, Lenovo Center’s vice president for food and beverage, fans shouldn’t expect to see the beer skate back in stock during this playoff stretch. Hoffman explained to ESPN that the challenge of placing another order with their specialty promotional item vendor makes restocking during the current series unlikely.
And Lenovo Center vice president for food and beverage, Adam Hoffman, told ESPN they will not be restocked for the rest of the playoff run, citing the difficulty in trying to turn around another order with the specialty promotional item vendor the Hurricanes used.
“We really thought we had purchased enough, and then this thing just blew up. Fans went crazy for it, which is great. We love that we created something that they wanted to have,” Hoffman told the outlet. “I don’t want to say we weren’t prepared for them to buy as many as they did, but obviously we didn’t think it was going to blow up exactly the way that it did, which is just so awesome.”
The Hurricanes join a group of NHL teams that have had specialty items for their respective playoff runs to generate buzz among hockey fans.
The Sabres reintroduced the beer sabre for the playoffs after they had sold out of them during the regular season and then restocked after their playoff drought ended.
The Mammoth unveiled the tusk mug at Delta Center last month.
The beer skate holds roughly 28 ounces of your favorite beverage and was sold for $19 for just the item alone and cost fans $12, along with the price of their drink, when they purchased it with liquid inside of it.
Local news station WRAL-TV reported that the Hurricanes had sold 4,687 beer skates during the Game 1 win over the Flyers and that the rush for them started during the pregame festivities in their fan plaza — where 300 were purchased.
Hoffman did suggest that they could make a return next season.
“We have already started talking about that,” he said. “I don’t know that I could say one way or the other whether or not that’s going to happen, but there also could be similar iterations. Maybe that’s the best way to call it.”