Video: Wachovia Center Reacts to Claude Giroux's Game 3 Winner

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The horn was loud, and many fans in the sea of orange at the Wachovia Center last night clearly thought Simon Gagne had sent the Flyers home victorious in overtime, but most quickly realized the trigger finger may have been premature and that they couldn't hop on the Broad Street line in euphoria just yet.

But waving the victory in front of the Philadelphia faithful like a carrot only made them want it more. The loudest the Wachovia Center got last night was not during Kate Smith and Lauren Hart's duo of "God Bless America" -- the City of Brotherly Love is not rude enough to interrupt such talented ladies -- nor was it after Claude Giroux's no-doubter. I'd argue that the loudest the Wachovia Center got last night was actually before the face off following the referee denying Gagne's would-be game winner. [video below]

The fans had that brief sense of what an OT winner in game three of the Stanley Cup Finals would feel like and now they wanted it even more. It was as if the 20,297 fans, a record crowd for hockey in South Philly, wanted the Flyers to hear how bad they really wanted -- and needed -- this victory.

Not a minute later, after winning a faceoff, Claude Giroux found himself going to the net when he redirected Matt Carle's beautiful and timely pass. The puck didn't leave anyone in the building wondering this time. Game over. Pandemonium.

“My initial thought was to tee the puck up and get a shot on net,” Carle
said
. “But I saw G going through the slot and I just tried to put it in
his vicinity. He obviously made a great play. I saw him tip the puck
and I was trying to skate back into position because I didn't see it go
in initially. Then we saw it trickle in, and it seemed like all hell
broke loose there.”

I had my trusty pocket video camera aimed directly at the sea of orange when Giroux finished off game three to bring the series to a 2-1 Chicago lead.

Photo by Al Bello / Getty Images, video by The700Level.com

Also, if you enjoyed the above video. You may get a kick out of watching fans react to Simon Gagne's would-be game winner and subsequently getting totally pissed when it's ruled a no-goal.

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