Oilers ticket holders could lose seats if caught trying to scalp

It promises to be a nail-biting, orange tassel-waving watch party Wednesday night when the Oilers take on the Ducks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Anaheim, and 18,000 people gather to watch on state-of-the-art screens at Rogers Place.

But many fans were left in the cold Tuesday after the team announced the fourth of seven "watch parties" at Rogers Place had sold out in two minutes.

The quick sale unleashed a reaction on social media ranging from shock to support.

"To do it in a couple of minutes was right up there with the biggest of concerts, for sure," said Stew MacDonald, executive vice-president of revenue with the Oilers Entertainment Group.

Some who managed to buy tickets later posted them for sale online — a move strictly against the company's policy for watch parties, intended to raise money for the group's charity wing, the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.

MacDonald said OEG staff will be monitoring social media all day to catch potential scalpers.

"Resale above face value for this event is forbidden," MacDonald said. "Anyone that we track down doing that, if they've got any other Oilers tickets those will be cancelled at OEG's discretion — including season seats for future years," he said.

He said the company has revoked more than 100 seats for each watch party since they noticed some trying to sell them for a higher price.

"We've basically killed the bar code on the tickets they've had when we've caught them trying to resell above face value," he said. "And made them available to the general public again."

• Draisaitl leads Oilers' slick demolition of Ducks to force Game 7
• Oilers feeding off the energy of their fans as they head into Round 2

Macdonald expects the same will happen for this game, so fans who missed out on Tuesday's sale may yet have the chance to snag seats for the watch party.

The Oilers and Ducks are tied 3-3 in the second round of the playoffs.