On Saturday, Feb. 4, the Cathedral Prep family was invited to attend the Erie Otters vs. London Knights hockey game at 7 p.m. They were offered tickets at a discounted rate starting at $10. This night was also Star Wars night, and many Prep students took advantage of the amazing opportunity.

Ryan (RJ) Niedzwiecki is the Group Sales Manager with the Erie Otters, meaning it is his job to find new ways to bring in groups to games. Mr. Niedzwiecki reached out to Cathedral Prep staff member Mr. Dougherty to see if there would be interest in having a Cathedral Prep Night this season. They talked over logistics on setting it up and eventually agreed on Feb. 4.

“The process of putting something like this together is reaching out to a group specifically in the beginning to see if there is interest in attending a game with the group,” Mr. Niedzwiecki said. “If the group would like to come to a game, we then discuss logistics of which game fits best for their group and if they would like to handle tickets with me or receive a link to send out to their group to purchase tickets. We use a third party organization called FEVO who help groups to pick out tickets and receive their tickets once payment is complete.”

Mr. Niedzwiecki has done big groups nights every season either through himself or FEVO, but this was the first time he has had a Cathedral Prep Night. He looks forward to working with Cathedral Prep for years to come.

“Nights like these allow groups of friends and families to come out to an Otters game together and enjoy the game and night as one group,” Mr. Niedzwiecki said. “My favorite aspect of doing these types of nights is watching the group have fun together at the game. They may not be able to coordinate a specific time to come to a game together normally. So, being able to set up a specific night for the group allows for this to happen during the season.”

Cathedral Prep student Elliot Hermann works for the Otters as a member of the ice crew. His job consists of skating out onto the ice with a shovel and cleaning off the top of the ice. He attended the game and was shocked with the turn out.

“The game on Saturday was great,” Elliot said. “There was a lot of energy in the building. Star Wars night is always popular, and we were playing our rival London, but I would have never expected a sell out crowd. It’s definitely up there with some of the best Otters games I’ve worked.”

If students or families of Cathedral Prep are ever interested in bringing a group to an Otters game or the Otters in general, they can reach out to Elliot at [email protected] or to Mr. Niedzwiecki at [email protected] or by phone at 814-480-6083.

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