Verizon SuperPages.com Ranks Hockey-Friendliest U.S. Cities Among NHL Team Hometowns

New York City and St. Louis have most hockey-related listings on popular Internet Yellow Pages site.

DALLAS, TX (PRWEB) September 26, 2005 -- New York City, home of the New York Rangers, has the most interest in hockey among National Hockey League franchise cities in the United States. Denver, home of The Colorado Avalanche, and St. Louis, the home of the St. Louis Blues, rank second and third, respectively. Thats according to a survey conducted by Verizon SuperPages.com as the league and its teams prepare to resume play Oct. 5 after a years hiatus.

To find the hockey-friendliest U.S. cities, Verizon SuperPages.com compared its Hockey" listings for each NHL teams hometown.

We thought this would be a fun way to celebrate the long-awaited return of professional hockey in the U.S.," said Scott Laver, president of SuperPages.com, a popular Internet directory and shopping site.

Laver, an avid Stars and Canucks fan, explained that the survey is not intended to predict how good the various NHL teams are or will be. Tampa Bay and Detroit led their conferences at the end of the 2003-2004 season, but their hometowns rank toward the bottom of our list," Laver said. Were sure each team can boast the most vocal and supportive fans. The SuperPages.com rankings simply show how many hockey-related resources are listed on www.superpages.com in each franchise city."

Dallas, Verizon SuperPages.coms home ice, ranked number 15 in the listings. Canadian franchise cities were not surveyed because they are not part of SuperPages.coms comprehensive database of U.S. businesses.

We certainly know their claim that its Canadas Game," Laver added. However, we will let the season speak for itself."

Here is the list, including the ranking, team name, home ice and number of listings.

1. New York, NY (51) Home of the New York Rangers

2. Denver, CO (42) Home of the Colorado Avalanche

3. St. Louis, MO (32) Home of the St. Louis Blues

4. (tie) Pittsburgh, PA (30) Home of the Pittsburgh Penguins

St. Paul, MN (30) Home of the Minnesota Wild

6. Philadelphia, PA (26) Home of the Philadelphia Flyers

7. (tie) Nashville, TN (21) Home of the Nashville Predators

Columbus, OH (21) Home of the Columbus Blue Jackets

9. (tie) Anaheim, CA (20) Home of the Mighty Ducks

Buffalo, NY (20) Home of the Buffalo Sabres

11. Chicago, IL (18) Home of the Chicago Blackhawks

12. Raleigh, NC (17) Home of the Carolina Hurricanes

13. Boston, MA (16) Home of the Boston Bruins

14. Phoenix, AZ (15) Home of the Phoenix Coyotes

15. Dallas, TX (14) Home of the Dallas Stars

16. San Jose, CA (12) Home of the San Jose Sharks

17. (tie) Sunrise/Fort Lauderdale, FL (11) Home of the Florida Panthers

Detroit, MI (11) Home of the Detroit Red Wings

Los Angeles, CA (11) Home of the Los Angeles Kings

Atlanta, GA (11) Home of the Atlanta Thrashers

21. Tampa, FL (10) Home of the Tampa Bay Lightning

22. Uniondale/Hempstead, NY (9) Home of the New York Islanders

23. Newark, NJ (8) Home of the New Jersey Devils

24. Washington, DC (7) Home of the Washington Capitals

The rankings are based on the total number of hockey-related listings in each city. Some of the categories checked include:

- Ice Hockey Equipment & Supplies (http://yellowpages.superpages.com/listings.jsp?C=Hockey&STYPE=S&MC=1&OO=1&F=1&CP=Sports+%26+Recreation%5EWinter+Sports%5EIce+Hockey+Equipment+%26+Supplies%5E)

- Ice Hockey Clubs & Instruction (http://yellowpages.superpages.com/listings.jsp?C=Hockey&STYPE=S&MC=1&OO=1&F=1&CP=Sports+%26+Recreation%5ESports+%26+Fitness+Instruction%5EIce+Skating+Rinks+%26+Instruction%5E)

- Ice Skating Rinks & Instruction (http://yellowpages.superpages.com/listings.jsp?C=Hockey&STYPE=S&MC=1&OO=1&F=1&CP=Sports+%26+Recreation%5EWinter+Sports%5EIce+Hockey+Clubs+%26+Instruction%5E)

These listings represent hundreds of hockey-related businesses nationwide," Laver said. And each business listed on SuperPages.com is entitled to a free Business Profile."

Profiles describe the company and list its address and telephone number. Profiles also provide additional valuable details such as hours of operation, credit cards accepted, brands carried and a link to the companys Web site if they have one. If they dont have a site, we can build one and host it for them." Laver said.

Any business listed on www.superpages.com, whether hockey-related or not, can complete or enhance a profile by going to my.superpages.com (http://tinyurl.com/cpu2h)

About Verizon SuperPages.com

Dallas-based Verizon Information Services, a division of Verizon Communications Corp. (NYSE: VZ), is the nations most advanced provider of yellow pages and related shopping information. It has $3.6 billion in revenues from products including: Verizon SuperPages yellow pages; Verizon SuperPages.com (http://www.superpages.com), the nations best Internet directory and a leading online shopping resource; and the SuperPages On the Go information directory offered through Verizon Wireless Get It Now services and on other wireless carriers. The company is the largest publisher of Hispanic directories in the U.S. and the first to provide a Hispanic online shopping resource (http://www.superpages.com/espanol).

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