BOISE, Idaho — Roughly one hour after tickets went on sale to the public for the Oct. 8 NHL Preseason matchup between the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday, the Idaho Steelheads posted a tweet saying, "we are SOLD. OUT."
"Boise is a hockey city and ready for the NHL," the post continued. "Now, are you ready, Arizona Coyotes & Golden Knights?"
The exhibition match will be the first time the NHL has played a preseason game in Boise since 1997, when the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks faced off prior to the Steelheads' inaugural season.
Tickets went on sale at 11 a.m. Wednesday. At 12:02 p.m., the Steelheads informed the public tickets were sold out for the preseason bout.
The sell out is especially impressive considering Boise State football is scheduled to face Mountain West rival Fresno State on the same day at Albertsons Stadium. Kickoff time for the Oct. 8 game has not been announced yet.
Prices ranged between $45 and $100 for the Oct. 8 matchup. Tickets were most expensive for 'P1,' which is made up of sections 102, 103, 104 and 203, located at center ice at Idaho Central Arena.
Sections 206 through 217 on the top deck costed $45.
Arizona will be the designated home team for the Saturday game, with puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m. It will be the final exhibition game for both teams ahead of the 2022-2023 NHL regular season.
Idaho Steelheads season ticket holders had first priority to purchase tickets for the NHL Preseason game. Project Filter is the title sponsor of the event.
“We are excited to be able to bring NHL hockey back to the Treasure Valley for the first time in 25 years,” President of Idaho Sports Properties, Eric Trapp said. “We have been working on this every year since the inception of the Steelheads, so we couldn’t be more pleased to have these two great NHL teams visit Idaho Central Arena and Boise thanks to the help of Project Filter.”
Vegas finished the 2022 season in third in the Pacific Division with a record of 43-31-8. The Golden Knights captured national headlines after making the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural 2017-2018 season.
“We know there are plenty of VGK fans in Boise and we are excited to give them a chance to see the Golden Knights in person. It will be a great event for them at an important stage of the preseason as we prepare for 2022-23,” Golden Knights General Manager, Kelly McCrimmon said.
Arizona struggled last season, finishing in last place in the Western Division with a 25-50-7 record.
Idaho Central Arena's holds 5,006 people. The Steelheads average more than 4,000 fans per game and 160,000 fans per season.
"We are excited to play the Golden Knights at Idaho Central Arena. We look forward to bringing NHL hockey to the great fans in Idaho on October 8,” Coyotes General Manager, Bill Armstrong said.
The last time the NHL touched down in Idaho was back in 2018, when the Steelheads hosted the Dallas Stars for a three-day training camp and a team scrimmage.
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