Almost three and a half thousand regular ticket holders stayed home from the Ottawa Senators' 3-2 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres Saturday night at Scotiabank Place.
Sounds like a bad news story, right?
Those seats were actually donated to military veterans and their families as part of the Senators' eighth annual Canadian Forces Appreciation Night as Veteran's Week began.
"We really appreciate the support from the public and that helps us do our jobs, especially for all the guys and girls overseas," said Master Cpl. Martha McKeage. "We just want to say thank you for all the support."
"I think hockey's an excellent choice, and it's the Canadian game right?" said Lt. Nicholas Marasco. "Everyone in the military loves hockey."
Senators fans said they supported the idea to honour the military.
"I think anything we can do to support them, show them that we really appreciate what they do, I think it's a great idea," said Pam Bailey.
Canada's top soldier said the night would boost morale for more than the veterans in the crowd.
"Those folks who are in Afghanistan today, in Kabul and in Kandahar . . . they'll watch TV," said Canadian Forces chief of defence Walt Natynczyk. "They'll see this and they'll know that Canada appreciates what they're doing."
Nearly 20,000 members of the military and their families have participated since the night began.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Katie Griffin
