Flyers offer free admission, snacks to attract fans during snowstorm

Thursday's constant snowfall and dropping temperatures made conditions for traveling around Philadelphia very difficult for most Flyers fans.

And Mother Nature's wrath left a whole lot of empty seats at Wells Fargo Center for a very important and tough game for the back-in-contention Flyers.

By the opening faceoff, the arena was more than half empty, so quick-thinking management came up with a plan to reward fans who would brave the weather: Free admission!

Use @SEPTA to head down to @WellsFargoCtr & get FREE admission to tonight’s game. Stop by the box office to claim your tickets. #STLvsPHI
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 6, 2015

And then as an added bonus for slogging through the white stuff, the Flyers fed everyone, too, with free pretzels, free hot dogs and free soda refills.

As our way of saying thanks for coming out tonight, enjoy free hot dogs, pretzels, and soda refills! #STLvsPHI pic.twitter.com/FhZWM2uAuX
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 5, 2015

And the freebie offer paid off.

After falling behind in front of the small opening crowd — 12,531 fans ended up showing up, about 9,500 on paid tickets and the other 3,000 getting in for nothing — the Flyers scored three third-period goals to pull out a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues to get to within four points of a playoff spot.

"With weather like that, 12,000 is amazing," defenseman Mark Streit said. "They showed up and supported us, and it was still a good atmosphere when we scored those goals. Great fans always in Philadelphia, and I thought it was a great game to watch."

Snow days aren't just for kids.

Rangers-Flyers fans brawl in stands during game (VIDEO)

Things turned ugly in Philadelphia on Tuesday night when a melee broke out in Section 209 during Game 6 of the Rangers-Flyers playoff matchup.

The fight occurred in the waning minutes of the contest in which the Rangers were soundly defeated 5-2 inside the Wells Fargo Center. A video from a fan in the section was quickly uploaded to YouTube which show Rangers and Flyers fans both slugging it out.

Chants of “Rangers Suck!” erupted soon after one reportedly boisterous Rangers fan was pulled backward from one row to another and punched repeatedly in the face by two men.

Here's a couple of video angles from the nose bleeds:

According to Chris Friess, the fight escalated after Rangers fans “refused to leave after the ushers told them to go for their safety.”

You can hear a woman's voice in the video pleading with the combatants to "Chill."

The venue's  VP of security said the facility could not comment on particulars about the skirmish, though a pair of security guards were overhead talking about amount of blood on an “idiot Flyers fan’s face.”

Police said no arrests were made related to the fight.

Game 7 is Wednesday night, back in the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden.

Rangers' Carcillo stares down finger-flipping Flyers fan after goal (VIDEO)

Daniel Carcillo skated out of the penalty box and scored a goal giving the Rangers a 4-1 lead over the Flyers they would never relinquish Tuesday. While he celebrated near the glass, surrounded by his New York teammates, one Philadelphia fan congratulated the former-Flyer with double middle finger salute, right in his face.

Carcillo noticed and stared back at the glass-shielded fan until his stubby fingers wore out. And also seemed to have a few less than pleasant words for the Flyers bench while passing them.

Afterwards, Carcillo was asked his thoughts on his once-adoring fans in Philadelphia.

Carcillo also smiled, laughed, asked about Philly fan reaction to him. "Nothing surprises me about the city and way people act."
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossRecord) April 23, 2014