Dogs in Sports: Indy Fuel’s “Pucks and Paws Night” a big success

Indiana dogs enjoyed their first minor league hockey game on Saturday.

The ECHL’s Indy Fuel, Double-A affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, hosted their second annual “Pucks and Paws Night” on Saturday at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, as they took on the Cincinnati Cyclones.

The game ended in a 4-3 win for the Fuel, but more importantly in our opinion, the promotion was a huge success, with over 250 dogs showing up at the arena.

“This was about twice as many dogs as we had show up last year,” Indy Fuel Director of Game Operations Connor Howard stated in an email.

The Great Pyrenees seems like a breed built for hockey, and Brutus agrees. He also looks very spiffy in his red bandanna.

According to Howard, the team got the idea for the promotion from several other ECHL teams, and specifically the idea for dachshund races during intermissions from the Cyclones, a Buffalo Sabres affiliate.

Cincinnati has about 60 dogs entered when they do weiner dog races, according to Howard.

In the lead-up to the promotion, dogs showed up at practice one day, and Roger the Boston Terrier took over the team’s Twitter account for a question-and-answer session.

“We are really happy with the progress we have made in our first two years doing this promotion, and we hope to have a lot more successful Pucks-n-Paws Nights in the future,” Howard said.

Many minor league baseball teams also have promotional nights where dogs are allowed into the stadium, often called “Bark in the Park” and featuring guests like Jake the Diamond Dog.

Through 11 games, the Fuel are in third place in the Western Conference’s Central Division, with 12 points and a record of 6-5-0.

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