Carolina Hurricanes anthem singer, Storm Squad member, and engineering student

Here's an article about Holly Wilver, the Carolina Hurricanes anthem singer during the 2006 playoffs. She's also a member of the Hurricanes Storm Squad, and an engineering student.

The national anthem singing didn't start with the Hurricanes. She spent the past couple years singing for some of the Durham Bulls games. Ironically, one of her first games was when the Bulls were playing a team from Canada, the Ottawa Lynx.

"I love [the] Canadian anthem; it's so pretty," Wilver said. "I sang it then, all this season and when the Canes played the Oilers. I learned it by listening to the last national anthem singer for the Canes. So, I definitely didn't have a problem with it. It's great."

Shortly after joining the Storm Squad, some members learned about her talent.

Kristen Scates, a 2004 graduate in computer engineering, said she didn't know Wilver could sing, but when another Storm Squad member mentioned it to her, it became a dare to get her to sing in front of the team.

"To be honest, it was years ago," Scates said. "I think it was more like a dare because we had heard she could sing and we knew she had performed the anthem before at a Durham Bulls game."

Wilver didn't budge. She wouldn't give in to the dare.

But when the time came, Wilver was ready.

In front of a sold-out crowd in the season-opening home game for Carolina this season against the Pittsburgh Penguins, many of her friends, along with everyone else in the stadium, heard her for the first time.