In a season plagued by low attendance and few fans in the stands, the Estevan Bruins are hoping that the end of the proof of vaccination mandate means more fans at Affinity Place down the stretch and into the playoffs.

The vaccine mandate ended Monday at midnight in Saskatchewan, meaning fans will no longer have to prove they are vaccinated or provide a negative test to be allowed in to Bruins' home games.

"This is very exciting for us because that means we're getting hockey back on track," said Bruins' Director of Marketing and Operations Adam Shirley. "And we will have that big full arena like we used to back in the day. We're back and we're excited."

Attendance has been down right across the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League this season. The Bruins sit third in the league with an average of 619 fans per game. Humboldt is in first at 696 fans with Melfort in second at 640. Notre Dame is last at 333. The league average this year is just 501 fans per game.

Prior to the pandemic, the Bruins sold out multiple playoff games and routinely had well over 1,000 fans in the building.

Shirley said the team has received hundreds of messages on social media from people who have not been able to come to games during the mandate and are confirming that they'll now be allowed in.

"We expect the numbers hopefully to double, but especially for the weekend...we would like to see a full arena," Shirley said.

Shirley added that the in-game entertainment will be enhanced with more fans in the rink.

"With more people we can do a lot more and make it a bigger environment and just a bigger wow factor," he said.

The Bruins host the Battlefords North Stars Tuesday night, while the Weyburn Red Wings pay a visit to Affinity Place this Saturday.

After that Melville will be in town on Feb. 26 and the Notre Dame Hounds on March 2 before the playoffs begin.

 

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