The Best Goal Horns

In recent years teams throughout the NHL have been following a trend of having new, more unique goal horn/song combinations. No longer does it seem that there are only five different goal horns used in the league as a whole, and no longer are the same three songs always used after the horn. With this in mind, how about we take a tour around the NHL examining the various cominations teams are using. I'll give a youtube clip with only the goal horn, and/or an example of the goal horn in action.

The Flyers changed theirs recently, they use relatively deep horn for just one long ring, and then play part of "Bro Hymn" by Pennywise.

This one isn't my all-time favorite, but it's unique, etching itself into our favorite memories of the past season. "Bro Hymn" is a great choice for a song, and it goes great with the horn. Using the same song every time magnifies the uniqueness, although I'll always miss hearing the classic goal songs like "Rock & Roll Part II" and "Zombie Nation".

Apparently the Ducks use "Bro Hymn" as well, but I don't like their goal horn as much. Anyway we used it first, so ours is by definition cooler.


A couple teams, notably the Penguins and Stars, have opted to stay with the classic choice "Rock & Roll Part II", but they put an ingenious twist on it. Instead of waiting for the goal horn to end, and going straight to the chanting part, they start at the drumming part, and start playing it along with the horn. This creative spin on a classic is spectacular because the combination makes it feel like the crowd's celebration starts right after the goal, not after the horn. The Stars are a bit more consistent with the combination, while the Penguins sometimes do something between the classic goal horn/song and this combination.


The Red Wings' Goal Horn is one I'll personally remember as that of the New Jersey Devils, before they moved to the Prudential Center. Now, I know it's sacreligious, but I love this goal horn. It has a sort of intimidating, ring-in-you-opponent's ear feeling to it. As horns go, songs and combinations aside, this is my personal favorite.


The Capitals' Horn just makes me want to shoot somebody. I don't think the combination is bad, it just gets sort of annoying. Using sirens in hockey at all is a bad idea in my opinion.


The Sabres' horn is a popular one, and it uses a horn which I don't believe any other team uses. Now, I'm aware that they use a siren along with it, but it's more like an ambulance siren than a police siren. It isn't as loud and less emphasis is put on it, so it isn't that bad of a touch at all. The right amount of something that's usually annoying, when placed in the right spot, can actually be good.


Now let's take a look at some of the truly awful ones...

The Hurricanes' horn sounds like the horn is regurgitating:


I was never a big fan of the fog horn being used as a goal horn; it hurts your ears after a while. The Sharks' horn is the best example (by the way, ignore the awesome tech version of "Rock & Roll Part II" that follows- I'm just focusing on the horn here).


Okay let's just stop before my ears fall off.

Now that that's over, here's a good example of a pretty "generic" goal horn if you want a point of reference. It's the Flyers old goalhorn that was replaced for the 2005-06 season.