During an early intermission Wednesday night, it looked like BankAtlantic Center was being invaded by the Rangers as fans dressed in New York blue streamed down the aisles to their seats.

Before Monday's game against Pittsburgh, Stu Siegel and Cliff Viner, the Panthers' new owners, greeted fans walking into the arena -- making sure to also introduce themselves to fans wearing Penguins gear.

With all the transplanted northerners as well as snowbirds making South Florida their winter home, Siegel and Viner know there are hockey fans in the region. And they want to convert them into Panthers fans and have them return to the arena -- even when their hometown teams aren't there.

``I think we have an under-marketed asset, with all the hockey fans down here,'' said Siegel, originally an Islanders fan from New York. ``We have all these people from Canada, Michigan, Philadelphia, New York down here. But they're not Panthers fans. We haven't given people enough to cheer for, except for 1996 and the excitement of a new team. That's worn off.''

Growing hockey in South Florida is helped with children growing up with the game.

The team and Incredible Ice in Coral Springs has become home to high school club teams, and, on Monday nights, all three ice surfaces are being used by those teams. The crowds are growing.

``We had 1,000 people at Incredible Ice last Monday -- 1,000 people. That's growing the sport,'' said Viner, a longtime Panthers season-ticket holder who had been a minority investor before joining forces with Siegel to take over for Alan Cohen earlier this month. ``We had nine hockey games, 18 teams, three sheets of ice. It was amazing to see.''

`GET THEM EXCITED'

Said coach Pete DeBoer: ``The grass roots here are getting better. I have two kids in the minor program here with the Junior Panthers. There are a lot of Florida Panthers fans here. It's our job to get them excited.''

When Siegel became an investor with the team last year, he took ownership of the Florida Panthers Foundation. The foundation raises money through raffles and events such as golf tournaments, and Siegel is trying to reach out to the community a lot more than the team did in the past.

The foundation started ``Stick to Fitness,'' a test program it hopes to expand into school systems in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Basically, the team purchases hockey sticks and donates them to schools, and the sticks become part of an exercise program based on Gov. Charlie Crist's fitness program.

The Panthers hope children take at least a passing interest in the sport and maybe try playing street hockey or come to a rink and give the real thing a try.

MAKE IT STICK

``To think every kid is going to take to ice hockey is a tall order,'' Siegel said. ``We want to get a stick in kids' hands and teach them about fitness. We want the kids to get that stick and want to play hockey with it.''

The biggest challenge the Panthers have faced in converting fans has been their performance on the ice. The team hasn't made the playoffs since 2000, and there is a perception that all of the team's stars leave after a few years.

The Panthers have lost such players as Roberto Luongo, Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester but also have locked up such core players as David Booth, Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss and Keith Ballard with long-term deals. The Panthers believe fans can root for these players, knowing they will be here for a long time.

But if the team doesn't succeed on the ice, Siegel's and Viner's job is much harder.

PLAYOFF PUSH

``You have to win, and that's the bottom line,'' DeBoer said. ``There's no secret ingredient. You have to generate excitement about your team and be competitive, get some playoff games.

``Fans have to have the hope they're going to see playoff hockey in March and April.''

• Defenseman Ville Koistinen cleared waivers Thursday and will remain on the team's active roster for now.