TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Tampa Bay Lightning hope to be the light tonight in a community devastated by back-to-back hurricanes.
“It’s been tough. It’s been tough on everybody in town,” Coach Jon Cooper said.
The puck will drop for the first time at home this season in what could be one of the most impactful games for both the players and the community.
“In this time when everybody’s tirelessly working and trying to get things back to normal having a couple of hours of fun with us will hopefully be pretty cool,” Cooper said.
Hundreds of first responders and recovery teams will receive free tickets to tonight’s game against the Vancouver Conucks.
Before the game, a food and supply drive will take place in Thunder Alley beginning at 5 p.m.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be collecting:
- Non-perishable foods (canned items, juice, peanut butter)
- Hygiene products (toothbrushes, toothpaste)
- Diapers and baby formula
- Cleaning supplies (trash bags, detergent)
- Wrapped plastic utensils
“The reason we’re a part of this community is because of the community and the support we get from everybody so it’s for us to give back,” Cooper said. “It’s what we don’t have to do it’s what we should do.”
Coach Cooper and the players are also going through this tough time.
“There’s obstacles in front of everything we’re doing and it’s all outside of hockey and we just have to, you know, keep our focus on what we have ahead of us,” Cooper said.
Tonight the hope is to show the community we are all in this together and will work together to get through the devastation.
The community can get discounted tickets to this game against the Canucks through Ticketmaster who is partnering with the Lightning to help provide some relief.
Tickets could be found Tuesday morning for as low as $25 before taxes and fees. They started selling out fast of the cheapest tickets early for the game against the Canucks.
The Lightning are holding the food and supply drive before Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Discounted tickets will also be available for that game.
Additionally, cheaper tickets can be found on Ticketmaster for the game versus Minnesota on Oct. 24.
