In modern professional sports, fan safety and logistical comfort dictate the schedule. If an unexpected severe weather warning hits a metropolitan area, league offices work quickly with local authorities to postpone games, issue refunds, and keep traffic off hazardous roads.
Back in the winter of 1987, however, the National Hockey League operated under a far simpler, old-school mentality: if the arena doors were open and both teams were physically inside the building, the puck was dropping. That uncompromising philosophy led to one of the most surreal, atmospheric, and legendary nights in hockey history—a game where a blinding snowstorm, a declared state of emergency, and 18,000 empty seats created an exclusive fraternity known forever as “The 334 Club.”
The Blizzard of January 22, 1987
On the morning of January 22, 1987, managers in the New Jersey Devils’ box office estimated that 11,247 fans would pass through the turnstiles at the Brendan Byrne Arena to watch the home team take on Lanny McDonald, Joe Mullen, and the high-flying Calgary Flames. But as pre-game preparations got underway in the afternoon, a historic, catastrophic winter storm paralyzed the entire Tri-State region.
Snow fell at staggering rates of up to three inches per hour. By early evening, nearly two feet of blinding, heavy snow dumped across New Jersey turnpikes and major thoroughfares. State officials officially declared a state of emergency, ordering non-essential drivers off the highways as abandoned vehicles littered shoulder lanes and public transit routes ground to a complete halt. Across the metropolitan area, businesses locked their doors, flights were grounded, and events were canceled across the board. Yet inside the Meadowlands, a unique set of circumstances kept the game alive. The visiting Calgary Flames were already tucked safely inside the building, having arrived early by charter bus for pre-game meetings before the weather deteriorated. The Devils players, however, faced an absolute nightmare.
The Great Jersey Turnpike Crawl
Most of the Devils’ roster lived locally in North Jersey, but getting to the rink became an epic survival mission. A five-player carpool featuring Ken Daneyko, Pat Verbeek, Kirk Muller, Joe Cirella, and John MacLean piled into an SUV at 3:00 PM. What normally took 20 minutes turned into a grueling six-hour ordeal.
“It seemed like four or five hours to get there,” Daneyko later recalled. “At times when we got stuck in the right lane, we’d have to drive on the other side and then back again in order to keep going. We took every imaginable road and pathway before we made it.” Devils forward Peter McNab found his route completely blocked when an 18-wheeler jackknifed near the Lincoln Tunnel. With the arena lights visible in the distance, McNab abandoned his car on the highway shoulder and walked nearly a mile and a half through knee-deep snowdrifts on foot just to reach the locker room door!
Because Calgary was in the building and the last wave of Devils players finally trickled through the security gate around 8:30 PM, the NHL refused to cancel. The game official was in place, the ice technicians had the surface prepped, and the league gave the green light.
334 Diehards in a 19,000-Seat Arena
Outside the building, thousands of ticket holders wisely gave up and stayed home. But a small, relentless contingent of hardcore fans refused to let two feet of snow keep them away. Some abandoned their stuck vehicles in nearby commuter lots, while others plodded along backroads at five miles per hour just to reach the parking gates. When officials finally delayed puck drop until nearly 9:00 PM to allow the late-arriving players to warm up, the official head count was taken: out of an arena built for over 19,000 spectators, exactly 334 fans made it inside.
Realizing the absurdity and historical novelty of the situation, arena management made a legendary gesture. They opened up the bowl, told all 334 fans to tear up their nosebleed tickets, and invited everyone down to sit anywhere they wanted right behind the glass. Concession stands threw open their counters, handing out free hot dogs, sodas, and team souvenirs to the small, frozen crowd. Flames forward Nick Fotiu walked out of the visitor locker room, looked up at the empty blue seats, and was so amazed by the fans’ dedication that he grabbed a bucket of pucks from the bench and flipped them into the front row as rewards.
A Pond Hockey Vibe on Official NHL Ice
When play finally began, the atmosphere inside the cavernous arena was completely surreal. With over 18,000 empty seats echoing every sound, there was no crowd roar or organ music—just the crisp crunch of skate blades cutting into fresh ice, pucks rattling off the dasher boards, and bench chatter carrying all the way into the upper rafters. Individual fans could hold conversations with players on the ice. It felt less like a high-stakes NHL regular-season game and more like a late-night, pickup game at a local outdoor pond.
The game itself turned into an absolute track meet. Fueled by the rowdy, intimate energy of the 334 diehards cheering directly behind their bench, the Devils went toe-to-toe with the powerhouse Flames in a wild goal-fest. New Jersey forward Doug Sulliman recorded a hat-trick, leading the Devils to a dramatic 7-5 victory over Calgary. When Sulliman scored his third goal, there weren’t enough fans in the building to throw hats, so one of the Devils’ athletic trainers threw his own baseball cap onto the ice just to keep tradition alive!
Flames head coach “Badger” Bob Johnson summarized the night perfectly after the final horn sounded near midnight: “The goals they scored were point blank. It was a bizarre finish to a bizarre day.”
The Birth of “The 334 Club”
Before fans filed out into the snowstorm around midnight, Devils staff members walked through the lower bowl carrying yellow legal pads to write down the name and mailing address of every single spectator in attendance. Weeks later, the Devils organization officially established “The 334 Club.” Every fan who proved they were in the building that night was mailed a commemorative certificate signed by team management, an official club lapel pin, and free tickets to a future home game.
To this day, holding membership in “The 334 Club” remains one of the most celebrated badges of honor in North American hockey fandom—a reminder of an era when two feet of snow and a state of emergency couldn’t stop 334 passionate fans and two NHL teams from putting on an all-time show.
Keep on Keeping on!
Evan ‘REV’ Renaerts
You can follow me on X @revingev
For news going on around the NHL and in the hockey world and future Prospects in Jr hockey you can head over to REVS TOP 15 where I post yearly prospects that I see as players who will end with the best careers. (Special thanks to several Scouts and agents around several Hockey leagues across North America & Europe for sending me stats and stories for many places I am unable to be at myself.) Head over to the X-platform and give me a follow @revingev to catch all the latest rumours moves and even upcoming Podcasts to watch live for our weekly TWO GUYS & HOCKEY TALK ‘Live show’ on Wednesdays 7pm MDT.
