When I woke up this morning, I expected to watch the Northwestern/Illinois football game at Wrigley Field. However, when I saw that Wesleyan and Hamilton were facing off a little over an hour up the road, I decided to add it to my hockey docket for the day and let TiVo take care of the football game.
I arrived at the Spurrier-Snyder Rink about 20 minutes before game time. After walking into the rink, I looked to the front desk to ask where I could find a ticket to the game. The student volunteer replied that the game was free admission and pointed to the door behind him.
When I walked into the rink, I immediately felt like I was back in time. The rink had the old rounded roof and wood paneling on the walls. It was built in 1970, cold as an arctic night (makes for really good, fast ice), and holds 1,500 spectators. The sight lines were good, along with the seamless glass the school installed in 2004.
I found a program, also free of charge, and scanned the rosters. Almost every player was from a New England prep school. Both teams were evenly matched up size-wise, only four players over 6 feet on both squads. A couple Canadians, but mostly Americans from New England, a few Mid-Westerners.
Before the drop of the puck, another thing I noticed was the lack of corporate sponsorships. The boards were bare, the program was bare, and the scoreboard wasn't brought to you by anybody. This was a simple hockey game between two New England colleges.
After a competitive 1st period that included a shot off the post by Anthony Scarpino of Hamilton, the teams picked up where they left off in the 2nd. Only 1:07 into the frame, Nik Tasiopoulous opened the scoring for Wesleyan with his first career goal. Captain Todd Keats quickly retrieved the puck and returned it to its new owner.
Midway through the period, I saw that Wesleyan students were running the game operations. They kept score, wound the clock, and worked the penalty boxes. The crowd was slow to file in, however by the end of the 2nd, I would say there were a good 800+ people in the stands.
After trading a couple goals, the last few minutes of the game came down to Hamilton trying desperately to tie it at 3. Their effort was in vain however, falling 3-2 to the Cardinals.
I left the game with a nice reminder of what a simple college hockey game is like. No big corporate sponsors, no TV cameras or laser lights. Just a sheet of ice, two teams, and some frostbitten toes.
CPF
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