Big Crowds for Calder Cup Finals

The Final Round of the Calder Cup Playoffs in the American Hockey League between the Lake Erie Monsters and the Hershey Bears are playing in front of huge crowds.  The Monsters have taken a commanding 3-0 lead in the best- of -seven series.  Game four is scheduled for Saturday evening at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, the home of the Monsters.  Last night (Monday) Lake Erie earned a 3-2 overtime win in Cleveland to put the Monsters within one win of the Calder Cup.

The first two games in the series were played at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.  Lake Erie won those games by scores of 4-1 and 5-3..  Should the Bears win Saturday evening the series would head back to Hershey for game six and seven if needed.

Huge crowds have turned out for the first three games of the championship round.  The Giant Center in Hershey has a seating capacity of 10,500.  The first game of the finals drew 8,875 fans.  Attendance for the second game was listed by the American Hockey League at 9,947.

The Lake Erie Monsters play in Cleveland, Ohio in the Quicken Loans Arena which is also home to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Seating capacity is 20,562.  Attendance at Monday night's game was 12,935.  According to statistics released by the American Hockey League overall attendance at AHL games so far this season is 7,110,298.  That is a record number in the AHL's 80-year history.