The Carolina Hurricanes head coach gave to Mitt Romney.

Peter Laviolette, the Stanley Cup-winning coach of the Triangle-area hockey team, paid $500 to attend an Aug. 30 fundraiser for the former Massachusetts governor at the Wakefield home of Jim Rutherford, the team's general manager, according to campaign finance reports.

Another sort-of Cane at the event: NAI Carolantic Realty owner Steve Stroud, a board member of the Centennial Authority, which owns the Hurricanes' home, the RBC Center.

Former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, who is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, also paid $500 to meet Romney.

"He's an exceptionally bright guy, obviously very capable," Orr said, though he noted he has not yet chosen a Republican presidential candidate.

The event's sponsors declined to say the amount raised, though campaign finance reports show Romney raised about $23,000 on Aug. 30 and 31 from about two-dozen Triangle-area residents. If so, that's about a fourth what organizers hoped to raise.