Islanders Fans Feel a Double Loss: It's Over for Nassau Coliseum, Too

Photo Jerry Smith, center, of Smithtown,N.Y., watching the Islanders game Monday night at Millers Ale House in Commack. Credit Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

COMMACK, N.Y. About 26 miles east of an eerily silent Nassau Coliseum, Islanders fans packed Millers Ale House on Monday, hoping for another dramatic victory in Game 7 of their teams first-round playoff series against the Capitals.

They watched on dozens of televisions, their garb blue and orange in contrast to the sea of red dominating the images from the game in Washington.

Wearing a white John Tavares No. 91 jersey and a blue team cap, Jerome Minerva of Huntington, N.Y., paced as he desperately tried to coax an early goal from his team.

Both teams look nervous, but the Islanders a little more, Minerva, a dedicated Islanders fan since 1978, said during the first period.

His words proved prophetic: The Islanders mustered only 11 shots on goal en route to a 2-1 loss.

The apprehensive fans at the bar and surely at countless other venues across Long Island were hoping for a few more playoff games at the Coliseum, with their team set to move to Brooklyn.

When the Islanders tied the game at 1-1 early in the third period on a goal by Frans Nielsen, fans broke into a Yes! Yes! Yes! chant.

Photo Dominick Glatz, of Commack, during the Islanders loss to the Capitals. Next season, the Islanders will play in Brooklyn. Credit Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

But Washington scored again midway through the period and held on for the victory. The realization set in among the fans that it was not only the season that was over; so was the Islanders 43-year-run at the Coliseum.

Im disappointed they lost, Jerry Smith, 27, of Smithtown, N.Y., said. And Im sad the Coliseum is done.

The sentiment was repeated by many fans who lingered as the postgame show from Verizon Center in Washington continued on the TV screens. Few watched.

Islanders fans will now have to travel to Brooklyn for home games and manufacture new methods of gathering beforehand and afterward.

Im upset they lost, but I feel worse that they wont be playing any more at Nassau Coliseum, said Adam Swanson, 38, of Smithtown, who wore a blue Tavares jersey. Im really glad I made it to two more games there this season. That place is special and always will be.

Continue reading the main story Video Islanders Fans Prepare for Brooklyn

As the regular season winds down in the N.H.L., Islanders fans are preparing for the teams move to Barclays Center next season after 43 years at Nassau Coliseum.

By Colin Archdeacon on Publish Date April 10, 2015.

Christi Kunzig, a former member of the Islanders Ice Girls a team of women in cheerleaderlike outfits who ensure the playing surface is clean of ice shavings and debris watched the game at home with friends. The finality of the Islanders move to Brooklyn resonated with her even more because of her special bond with the fans and the staff at their longtime arena, she said.

I love going there and knowing all the season-ticket holders, the security guards and the ushers, she said. Its been like a family working there, so its sad to see that end.

This final season, in which the Islanders won 47 regular-season games and finished with 101 points, essentially became a protracted goodbye to a site that is a part of the fabric of Long Island.

A win over the Capitals would have given the Islanders a second-round matchup with the Rangers, a series that would have had New Yorks hockey fans on edge. With the defeat comes a long summer off and the question of what games will be like in Brooklyn, where tailgating will be virtually impossible and hundreds of seats in the arena will have an obstructed view of the ice.

The veteran fan George Seelig, who has rooted for the Islanders since their inception in 1972, was happy to be among his brethren no matter the outcome.

Photo Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, has been the home of the Islanders since 1972. Credit Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

I wanted to be someplace loud, fun and near home, said Seelig, a Commack resident.

The fans cheered every save by Islanders goaltender Jaroslav Halak he finished with 24 and moaned when he strayed from his crease. They fell silent when Washingtons Joel Ward broke the scoreless tie late in the second period.

The Hofstra senior Jeremy Musella, a die-hard fan since 1997 who is still waiting for a playoff series win, chose a philosophical outlook for the seasons conclusion.

For me, there really isnt a next year because Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum will always be home, said Musella, who watched the game from home.

But for Minerva, the fan from Huntington at Millers Ale House, who shed his jersey after the game for a gray Islanders T-shirt, another pressure-filled playoff matchup evoked a flood of memories of past postseason defeats.

Before they won four straight Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983, the Islanders were upset by the Rangers in 1979. And 13 years ago, they were defeated by Toronto in seven games.

I cried in 1979, I cried in 2002, and I cried tonight, Minerva said.

After another razor-thin defeat for his team and the official end for the only home rink the Islanders have ever known a few tears were understandable.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/sports/hockey/islanders-fans-feel-a-double-loss-its-over-for-nassau-coliseum-too.html

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