ANAHEIM, Calif. (KTNV) — For most Vegas Golden Knights fans at Honda Center this weekend, the second-round playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks is simply a road trip.
For Peter and Becky Eminger, it feels like something much more personal.
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The couple became Golden Knights fans before the franchise even played its first game — putting down a deposit when the NHL first announced Las Vegas would receive a team.
“We actually have been fans ever since before Vegas when they first announced the team,” Peter Eminger said. “We put our deposit down so that they could help.”
The Emingers lived in Las Vegas during the Golden Knights’ inaugural season and became original season ticket holders as the city embraced hockey in real time during the team’s historic run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018.
“It was great for Vegas to have a team and to see the community build around a team like that,” Becky Eminger said. “Las Vegas never had that before.”
Eventually, life brought the couple to Orange County — but their loyalty to the Golden Knights never changed.
“We were there at the beginning, so you just kind of have this emotional attachment to it,” Peter said.
Now, years later, they get to watch the team they supported from day one play playoff hockey just minutes from their new home.
Still, they say nothing compares to watching a game inside T-Mobile Arena.
“It’s not the same,” Peter said. “There’s nothing that’s the same about it.”
Becky agreed.
“Obviously, we prefer to watch them when we’re not the enemy,” he said with a laugh. “It’s great to just see them still doing well — that first inaugural season wasn’t a fluke. They really have what it takes. They’re building a brand, a team that’s going to have staying power.”
And after Vegas reclaimed the series lead with a dominant Game 3 win in Anaheim, the couple remains confident the Golden Knights can finish the job.
“They’re going to win,” Peter said.
“I think they can win,” Becky added. “They have to.”