Panthers Host Bruins at BankAtlantic Center as New Season Begins

The Panthers opened the home schedule with the kind of score that gets noticed before the parking lots empty.

Florida beat the Boston Bruins 8-3 Friday night at BankAtlantic Center, starting the 2006-07 season with a loud win in Sunrise. The NHL game sheet lists the Oct. 6 matchup at BankAtlantic Center with attendance of 19,250, giving the building a packed opening-night feel and west Broward a clean hockey headline to start the year.

For a team trying to pull attention in a crowded South Florida sports market, eight goals help. The Heat are defending NBA champions, football season is underway, and baseball’s playoffs are on television. A Panthers opener can get lost in that mix unless the result is big enough to travel. An 8-3 win over Boston is exactly the kind of score that can move from the sports section into school conversation.

The arena setting matters too. BankAtlantic Center sits beside the Sawgrass Mills corridor, so a full hockey night affects more than ticket holders. Students and families nearby can see the building lit up, the traffic patterns shift and the surrounding area take on the feel of an event night. For Piper students, that makes the Panthers less distant than a Miami team. The game is happening in their part of the county.

The win also starts the season with a different tone than the uncertainty that followed the lockout year. The NHL has settled back into its schedule, and the Panthers are giving local fans something immediate to talk about. The official schedule records Florida as 1-0-0 after the Bruins game, with the home arena listed as BankAtlantic Center.

Opening nights can be overread, but they still set a mood. On this one, the Panthers gave Sunrise goals, noise and a reason to pay attention.

For Broward hockey fans, that is a useful way to begin October.