Detroit Red Wings Red & White game draws sold-out, standing-room-only crowds to Centre Ice Arena

Sep. 24—TRAVERSE CITY — For the fans who didn't get there early, they had a bit of a hike to get to the annual Red and White game at Detroit Red Wings training camp.

By the time the puck dropped at about noon Sunday, the entire parking of Centre Ice Arena plus two auxiliary parking lots — one at Carlisle Fields west of the facility and the other at the Michigan Army National Guard Recruiting Office — were completely filled.

That meant people sporting their Dylan Larkin or Moritz Seider hockey sweaters were probably a little toasty by the time they got out of the sunny, blue skies with temps in the low 70s and into the sweet relief of the icebox that was Centre Ice. The sold-out crowd with only standing-room spots left available warmed up the usually frigid rink as Team Red bested Team White by a 6-4 final.

Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde called Sunday's action "productive," adding that on top of the standard 5-on-5 play, Detroit was also able to get some reps for the special teams as well as the 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 shifts.

Lalonde said he loved the pace of the game, which was formatted a bit differently from previous Red & White games.

"We weren't trying to think outside the box," Lalonde said. "We had this vision of how these three periods would look because we wanted to be productive and work on some things. It went smoother than I had anticipated."

The Red Team led 2-0 after the first period on goals from Daniel Sprong and Tim Gettinger. Unfortunately, Matt Luff, who dealt with a broken arm last season, suffered what Lalonde called an "upper-body injury" late in the first period and was helped off the ice. He did not return to action.

Lalonde said the injury to the 6-foot-3 right-wing "did not look good."

"He'll be out for a little bit here, but fortunately there is nothing wrong with his head," Lalonde said. "My first thought was a head injury, so I was obviously extremely concerned."

The second period was all power plays as the squads each saw eight opportunities with the man-advantage for one minute. Although there were 10 goals scored, none came on the power play.

"We had a lot of chances, which I liked," Lalonde said. "All of the power plays got a lot of looks and chances. As long as you're getting those looks, they're going to go in."

Chances were plentiful in the third period as players took advantage of the open ice with the 4-on-4 and 3-on-3 play and shootouts leading to eight goals in the final frame.

Simon Edvinsson, who played primarily for the Grand Rapids Griffins last season and was called up for the final nine games, scored a shootout goal during the special teams portion of the third period. He said being in a game-like atmosphere for the first time before the preseason starts was beneficial.

"Everyone was sharp, and everyone has been sharp," Edvinsson said. "It's been high-tempo with everyone competing for roster spots. It's a really good environment, and I think everyone just gets better from that."

"The whole group gets better," he added. "We all make each other better."

Lalonde said the team is still a "work in progress" and that it is difficult with exhibitions to put everything together.

"We're not sold or married to anything," Lalonde said, adding that he was happy to get a competitive look at his players.

Lalonde said the focus heading into the remainder of the preseason schedule will be on structure and making roster decisions. He hopes to see "true competition" throughout the string of preseason games.

The Red Wings announced after the game that they had assigned defensemen Andrew Gibson and Tnias Mathurin to their respective major junior clubs. Additionally, the Red Wings released forwards Orrin Centazzo and Cam Hillis from their professional tryouts and released forwards Matyas Melovsky, Israel Mianscum and Jake Uberti, defensemen Jackson DeSouza, Finn Harding and Connor Punnett, and goaltender Lukas Matecha from their amateur tryouts.

The Red Wings now have 57 players on their training camp roster — 34 forwards, 16 defensemen and seven goaltenders.

The final day of training camp is slated for Monday with an 8:30 a.m. start time. The Red Wings open their eight-game preseason schedule with a home contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena.

Before the Red Wings leave for Detroit, Lalonde made sure to show his appreciation to the Traverse City community, especially the volunteers who help keep camp running smoothly.

"It's amazing," Lalonde said. "You almost have to experience it to understand how impactful they are and the type of job they do. The passion of the volunteers, the passion of the fanbase, it always amazes me. This year was no different and maybe even another level with the excitement around the arena."