MANCHESTER -- Landon Fairhurst, 14 months old, went to a family reunion Friday night.

Well, there weren't really too many people he was related to outside of his father and mother, Aaron and Rachel Fairhurst of Weare, and this wasn't the backyard barbecue kind of family reunion.

The Fairhursts were in town for opening night of the Manchester Monarchs, and they gathered along the concourse inside the Verizon Wireless Arena well before the game was about to start, renewing acquaintances with the rest of their “family,” a group of season ticket holders in section 126.

For Landon, this was old hat.

“We took him to every game last year,” Rachel said.

The NHL lockout made the Big V the place to be Friday night as the Monarchs played the Providence Bruins. Peter Chiarelli, general manager of the Boston Bruins, was here. So was his counterpart from the Los Angeles Kings, Dean Lombardi. Claude Julien, the Bruins coach, even popped in.

“They're still playing here,” said Loretta McLaughlin of Londonderry, another member of the clan from section 126.

At least a half-dozen players with a shot to log regular minutes in the NHL were on the ice. The quality of hockey in the American Hockey League is expected to be at its highest as long as the NHL lockout continues. Aaron Fairhurst called it bittersweet — he'd like to see the NHL teams playing, but he enjoys watching these rising players in the AHL.

Young players like Andrei Loktionov and Jordan Nolan — both of whom were with the Kings during their run to the Stanley Cup last year — are sure to make the Monarchs an exciting team to watch.

“How much better does it get?” asked Marilyn Dickerman of Manchester, a long-time Monarchs fan who was at the game with her fiancé, Paul Jacques.

Dickerman and Jacques bought season tickets for the first time this year, but they've been coming to games since the Monarchs first arrived in town 12 years ago.

“Our kids grew up with the Monarchs,” Dickerman said.

The Monarchs have become part of the family for many of the announced crowd of 7,002 in attendance.

“I've watched a lot of kids grow up here,” said Pammy the Balloon Twister as she made balloon creatures for the kids walking along the concourse. “There are a lot of people I know here tonight. There's a good energy.”

The Monarchs know how to do minor league sports entertainment. A group from F.W. Webb in Goffstown was on the ice to roll out a giant flag that covered center ice and players from the N.H. Avalanche Squirt II team in Hooksett stood next to Monarchs players as the choir from the McKelvie Intermediate School from Bedford sang the national anthem.

It's small-town stuff done with a big-time flair.

Business was brisk along the concourse. They were lined up early to pay $7.75 for a Guinness draft and sales of the new furry Max hats were good. Kids waited anxiously to fire slap shots inside the Kids Kingdom and people were gladly trying new items like the spicy chicken sandwich, nachos grande and poutine at the concession stands.

“It's good hockey and it's close,” Rachel Fairhurst said. “And it's very family friendly.”

Gage Nydegger, 8, of Center sandwich found that out.

Ash Nydegger was hoping to take his son to see the Bruins in Boston for his first professional hockey game. Instead, they ended up here Friday night. As they waited for an usher to point out their seats, a man standing nearby gave Gage a hockey puck.

“That was so cool,” Gage said.

Maybe this isn't the NHL, but that didn't seem to matter to the multitude of families that came out dressed in a mix of Monarchs, Kings and Bruins shirts and hats. Kids danced during the intermissions, waved giant foam paws and clapped dutifully when Max the team mascot stood along the railing in the upper deck urging them to cheer on the Monarchs.

“His face lit up when he walked in here,” Ash Nydegger said of his son's first hockey game. “I don't who was more excited, him or me for him.”

Hockey is back. It's not the NHL, but no one seemed to mind. For one night, at least, this was the place to be.

jfennell@unionleader.com