ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues took on the Winnipeg Jets in Manitoba Monday night, while some of their fans gathered more than a thousand miles away at Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis.

The watch party included St. Louis Blues organist Jeremy Boyer energizing the crowd.  Among the fans was Ron Baechle, better known as “Towel Man” for leading goal counts with the waving of his towel.

“It’s electric,” Baechle said. “It’s what you live for because the possibility of bringing the (Stanley) Cup home is real.” 

Joe Klinck recently moved to St. Louis and has been captivated by the excitement around the St. Louis Blues.

“The first week we were here, we went to our first Blues game and went and bought a hockey jersey afterward,” he said.

The Blues dropped the first game of the playoff series even though they scored first and took a 3-2 lead into the final period.  

Fans believe the team is resilient enough to overcome early adversity, just as they rallied for a 12-game winning streak that helped propel the Blues into the playoffs.

Longtime Blues fan Josh Henderson believes the team’s combination of younger and veteran players will help in the playoffs.

“There are five people on that team that won the cup with them,” he said.  “They know what they’re doing.”

he Blues were tied with Winnipeg heading into the final period Monday night but lost by a score of 2-1.

“Shoot the puck a little bit more,” said Jacob Haas, a Blues fan who watched the game at Ballpark Village.  He remained confident the team can still bounce back and win the next two games at home.

St. Louis Blues fan Carson Sutton agreed that the Blues will get a boost from a crowd that’s not ready to give up on a team that’s already surprised some fans by making the playoffs.  He said, “Coming back to St. Louis, the fan base, the energy there, it’s going to help us out a lot.”