How a NY Islanders fan crashed the Hurricanes celebration and drank from Stanley Cup

Every hockey fan has imagined what it would be like to celebrate with the Stanley Cup.

For Long Island native and diehard Islanders fan Andrew Metelitz, that dream somehow became reality despite the Islanders not even making the Final.

After traveling to Las Vegas for the Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights, Medalist didn't just witness Carolina capture hockey's ultimate prize. By the end of the night, he was celebrating alongside the champions, drinking from the Stanley Cup and doing it all while wearing an Islanders hat.

According to a story from News 12, Metelitz and his friend have made a tradition of attending the Stanley Cup Final every year, always trying to get as close to the Cup as possible. Last year they managed to talk their way outside the Florida Panthers' locker room celebration after the championship was won.

This year, they took things to another level.

After noticing Hurricanes players' family members accessing the ice with yellow wristbands, Medalist improvised by folding a yellow streamer from the pregame festivities into a makeshift bracelet, tucking it underneath his watch and confidently walking right past security.

The plan worked even better than he could have imagined. For roughly 20 minutes, Medalist blended into Carolina's on-ice celebration, mingling with players, coaches and family members while taking photos that looked as though he had been part of the Carolina family all season.

What started as an unbelievable experience somehow became even more surreal when, later that night, he and Riedel ran into the Canes again as the Stanley Cup was paraded down the Las Vegas Strip. Rather than standing on the sidelines, they simply joined the group and walked with the team.

That included a trip inside Caesars Palace for the after-party, and there came the moment every hockey fan dreams about. Someone handed Metelitz the Stanley Cup, and he did what countless players have done before him and took a drink from it. "I genuinely felt as if they took me in as their own," Medalist said. "They shared the best moment of their life with me."

Islanders fans have spent more than four decades waiting to see one of their own celebrate with the Stanley Cup again, and while we're all still waiting, for one night, a young man from Long Island wearing orange and blue got a chance to party the same way he would if his own team had won it.

Wild.

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