Jets fans soar with ‘rally' barf bags aboard flight; Winnipeggers overcome with playoff frenzy

Winnipeg Free Press

06-05-2025

Their seats really were way up in the nosebleeds, and there were no white towels to be found, so the industrious high schoolers grabbed the closest thing they could find.
Airline barf bags.
A Jets fan's gotta do what a Jets fan's gotta do at 30,000 feet in a Winnipeg Whiteout.
And while the tense, hold-your-breath, there-is-no-tomorrow Game 7 double-overtime action from downtown Winnipeg streaming on an iPad screen more than 1,000 kilometres away aboard a WestJet flight may well have been nausea-inducing, the Junior Pilots U17 Navy girls volleyball team from Niverville enthusiastically swung their sick sacks in an effort to help push the National Hockey League's best team past the St. Louis Blues and into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Manitobans love their Jets.
The Niverville volleyballers were in Calgary to compete in a weekend USports recruiting tournament. They were at the airport, watching the third period of the game in a lounge before their flight home began boarding.
'We were able to catch Winnipeg's second and third goal that tied it before the main boarding was called,' said coach Dylan Zacharias.
The Jets were trailing 3-1 in the do-or-die game when Vladislav Namestnikov scored with just under two minutes remaining to get the home side within one. Then, as the final seconds ticked down along with fans' hopes for a a miracle comeback, Cole Perfetti tipped a shot into the Blues goal with three seconds left, tying the game and sending more than 20,000 fans inside and outside Canada Life Centre into a frenzied celebration.
And it felt, Zacharias joked, like WestJet was in on the moment.
'Between the time we all boarded and the time we took off, we were all able to watch the first overtime,' he said.
By the time the plane hit cruising altitude — and the point where passengers could purchase Wi-Fi — the puck had just dropped in the second overtime period.
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'We had to bypass all of the (geographic broadcast) restrictions, but we were able to get it on,' Zacharias said. 'One of our parents ended up holding up an iPad in Row 4, and the girls were sitting in the rows behind and cheering. Everyone on the plane was cheering it on.'
Quite a bit closer to the mayhem unfolding downtown, Carter Polanski and his teammates were huddled on the bench during a 3-on-3 game at Canlan Sports on Ellice Avenue, watching the end of the third period on Polanski's phone.
Not far away, the referee was doing the same, watching on his phone.
When Perfetti's tip crossed the goal line, the referee jumped into the air and leaped into the arms of the players on the bench.
'I was shocked, I couldn't believe the Jets came back, and then I was really excited — obviously, the ref was, too,' Polanski said.
'It's awesome. I feel like the Jets have kind of been looked down on recently with their losses, so I was very excited. It was pretty awesome.'
Meanwhile, one city business is making it… snow-ish.
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Dreamcatcher Promotions, a local First Nations-run business, has printed 120,000 Whiteout rally towels, with another 40,000 on the way as the Jets gear up to host at least the first two games of the second-round best-of-seven series against the Dallas Stars, which begins Wednesday night.
Owner Michelle Cameron, who is from Peguis First Nation, said their machines have been running 14 hours each day.
'It's been a dream come true,' said Cameron, who watched with teary eyes as 15,225 of her towels were waving inside the arena when she attended Game 1 of the opening round. 'As a First Nation-owned company, we don't get these opportunities. So for us, it's unheard of.'
The partnership began after Cameron met Jets co-owner Mark Chipman at a local event a few years ago. A coffee meeting followed and she pitched the company's growing capacity.
'He was impressed by our story of growth and wanted to work with an Indigenous company,' Cameron said. 'The opportunity came and we seized it.'
Dreamcatcher Promotions started printing different Jets-branded T-shirts and hats, and the partnership has blossomed ever since.
'Because of the tariffs, it was important the Jets supported Canadian and local, and that's why 'printed locally' is also on the towels.
Annabella Maguet wasn't just waving the towels — she was wearing them Sunday.
Maguet collected several towels from Games 1, 2 and 5, enough to fashion her own Whiteout-themed pants and jacket.
'After Game 1, I saw one of my friend's moms, who had made pants from old whiteout towels, and I thought it was such a good idea, so I kind of re-created her look,' she said.
She didn't stop there, however. After Game 5, Maguet and her mother, Carolyn, managed to find a few more, enough to sew together the matching jacket.
'I got so many compliments, and so many people were asking if I would sell to them or how much I was charging for them, which is funny, because I'm not really a seamstress,' she said. 'I just fix up my family's clothes and my brother's hockey gear.'
Sunday night's thrills rippled south down Carlton Street, and hung a right on Broadway, leading to the Manitoba legislature.
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
'I left a good chunk of my voice (at the game), but I will always be able to say: 'Go Jets go!' and 'We want the cup!' said Premier Wab Kinew during Monday's question period, repeating the chant three times to cheers from the assembly.
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New Progressive Conservative Leader and former Blue Bombers offensive lineman Obby Khan also took a moment to salute the moment.
'Go Jets go!' he said while referring to the 'incredible overtime action.'
— With files from Maggie Macintosh.
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Even KFC is leaning into the playoff energy, embracing a long-running local meme that ties its acronym to the Winnipeg Jets' leading scorer.
The brand, which partnered with the Jets earlier this season, is playing along with fans who've dubbed Kyle Connor 'Kyle F—-ing Connor' for years.
'It became very clear to us how much Jets fans love 'KFC', with many rocking their own version of KFC bucket hats with Kyle's face pasted on,' said Lauren Pottie, a senior manager at KFC Canada. 'So the KFC-KFC connection really was borne out of that and with the playoffs, we knew this was the time to celebrate these local rituals and go all in.'
Pottie said the partnership between the Jets and the fried chicken giant is about connecting with the local culture and the fans.
Connor has been working with the brand, they said.
'We do have plans beyond this ad campaign to enrich the game day experience of Jets fans,' Pottie said. 'We've partnered with local creators and huge Jets fans to build on the momentum and excitement that surrounds these playoffs.'
That includes some unique KFC swag to help fans cheer on the Jets and Connor at an upcoming game, Pottie said.
Details on that are still to come.
Scott BilleckReporter
Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade's worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott.
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