Stop by Bowen Island Pub anytime the Vancouver Canucks are playing this season and you can expect to see a lot more familiar faces taking a swig of beer or devouring a plate of nachos, according to bar owner Glenn Cormier.
"Once the tourists leave, it's nice for the pub that the locals can get back into their own rhythm and enjoy the pub on their own," he said.
The Canucks played their first game of the 2013-14 campaign on Oct. 3 against the San Jose Sharks the same team that swept them during the playoffs last spring.
Cormier said the NHL lockout and the Canucks' quick exit from the playoffs meant last year was mostly a write-off for Vancouver fans.
"People were a little bit upset with last season, so I think that people are anxious to get back."
The pub will be serving game-day specials, while it's projection screen TV which covers an entire wall is back in action for the season.
"Hockey is definitely more of a draw (than other sports) just because you kind of get everyone into it, especially if the Canucks are doing well," Cormier said.
"With hockey, the girls get behind it just as much as the guys. It's just a little more social."
Meanwhile, the staff at Doc Morgan's is devising ways to make the bar primed for game nights after coming under new ownership last May right as the Sharks flushed the Canucks out of the playoffs.
"We didn't really get a chance to do anything (last season)," general manager Jamie Bronstein said.
"It's a brand new year, a brand new coach, a brand new team and I'm hoping to build a crowd."
This means $4 drink specials and 30 per cent off appetizers on game nights.
Bronstein said he eventually plans to give patrons either a hockey card or a puck with a player's number on it when they enter the bar. If the player scores, the fan with his number gets a free drink or prize.
"We're just learning the island itself, how quirky it is," he said.
"We've been trying to build some football crowds in there since (the American football season) started. Monday nights, more and more people have been coming in there."
But Bronstein was quick to add that most of the 47-inch TVs will be tuned to Canucks if the hockey team plays a Monday game. Football fans will have to make do with a single TV with the volume turned down.
"We're in Canada, we're in Vancouver, we're going to have the volume on for the Canucks game."
