History of Carolina Hurricanes goal horn that sends fans into orbit, ups the energy inside Lenovo

ByMichael Perchick WTVD logo

Sunday, June 14, 2026 7:50PM

History behind the iconic Hurricanes game day horn

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Lenovo Center is known as the loudest house in the NHL - and much of that is thanks to the Caniacs, whose energy hits a new level when they hear a specific sound.

The Carolina Hurricanes are undoubtedly North Carolina's team, but there's one part of their Hartford Whalers heritage that still loudly remains.

The game day horn.

"This is the one tie in from those Whalers days," Christine Williams, the Carolina Hurricanes Director of Event Presentation, says.

She is also the woman responsible for making it happen. Williams watches intently above, mostly out of sight of fans who fill the arena. You could say she's heard but not seen.

"We're looking for the arm of the referee to hit the goal horn. We're not responding to the crowd. We're not responding to what we see visually. We're only supposed to be going off the referee's arm."

And Caniacs inside the arena explode into cheers.

"It's pretty crazy. It's a unique experience to have a crowd react like that."

So why the horn?

Though there is a broad understanding that, in a nod to its own history, Hartford (Whalers) used a ship's boat horn during games.

And when the team moved south to North Carolina in 1997, so did the horn.

"Some of the other horns you hear around the league, they're a little higher, a little whinier. Ours is a little deep and has a lot of gravitas."

And while the Canes still pay homage to their Hartford roots with merchandise and Whalers-themed nights, the iconic horn is the one part of that past that's endured night after night.