Sorry I'm late jumping into this topic..we're in the process of moving
 everything over to a new web server, which includes renaming stuff, so
 I've had my hands full.
 
 Here's an article on it from last Thurs. (1/11) Gazette-Telegraph:
 (http://www.usa.net/gtwork/archive/Thursday,_January_11,_1996.arc/spt020.html
 is supposed to be the URL for that, but I think they only keep the previous
 week's issues there)
 
 AFA tangles with fans over protective net
 
  --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
  By Steve Page
 
  It's truly a nettlesome situation.
 
  The litigious present and the inevitable future have descended upon
  Air Force Academy's Cadet Ice Arena, in the form of a monofilament
  net that hangs between the ice surface and the seats.
 
  In theory, the net is for hockey fans' protection, to keep them from
  being plunked by stray pucks. But not all fans want to be protected
  -- most would rather have an unobstructed view of the game.
 
  "It's ridiculous," said Don Bauder of Colorado Springs. He led
  chants of "Take down the net!" and "We hate the net!" when it first
  appeared during a Colorado College home series just before the
  holiday break. "It's more of the government trying to take care of
  us.
 
  "We've been going to CC hockey games since 1974. There's an element
  of risk in the game, but the net is just separating the game from
  the fans. This place (Cadet Ice Arena) is sort of sterile, and the
  net makes it even more so."
 
  Bauder's wife, Rebecca, said, "Trying to watch a game through the
  net makes you nauseous."
 
  The netting has been hung at the behest of Lt. Gen. Paul Stein, the
  academy's superintendent.
 
  "It's strictly a safety device," Stein said last Saturday while
  sitting behind the netting, which was then draped only in front of
  the west-side stands (by this weekend, the net is supposed to be
  hung in front of the east-side stands, too). "It doesn't detract
  from what you see. If you just look at the game, you don't notice
  it."
 
  An informal survey of west-side fans in recent weeks showed that an
  overwhelming majority disagree with Stein.
 
  Barb Yalich, a former vice president of CC, said, "When you're used
  to watching without anything in front of you, it (the net) is a
  distraction. And I like danger," she said with a laugh.
 
  CC fans are not alone in their outrage. The rink, which is
  temporarily serving as CC's home ice, also is Air Force's home ice.
 
  "I understand it's because of liability, but when you buy a ticket,
  you accept your own liability," said Gary Quick of Littleton, who
  began attending games when he was stationed at the academy. "You buy
  a ticket knowing what the dangers are. So why do we need a net?"
 
  Three reasons: Liability, liability, liability.
 
  "Those are the same people who would be suing us if they got hit by
  a puck," said Stein.
 
  Sources close to the arena say there have been lawsuits before, but
  none have come to fruition.
 
  Air Force Sgt. Chris Broeils and her husband, Kevin, said they
  haven't considered suing the academy, but they could. Their youngest
  son, 4-year-old Alex, was struck by a puck during Air Force's second
  game of the season -- in the pre-net era.
 
  "It was just one of those freak shots. We were above the glass,"
  said Kevin Broeils, whose family was sitting on the west side in
  section EE, Row D. "The guy was clearing the puck out of the goal
  area. It just happened to go over the glass and had just the right
  trajectory.
 
  "The puck had so much backspin that it hit him twice in the head. It
  was pretty bloody. The doctors were surprised he didn't have brain
  damage. You could see his brain right through his skull."
 
  That was on Oct. 21.
 
  "He (Alex) gets a CAT-scan once a month now and sees a neurosurgeon
  in Denver once a month," Kevin said. "He's still got a pretty good
  dent in his head."
 
  The Broeils have saved the puck and the tickets in a small glass
  case for their son, who Kevin said, "never wants to see another
  game."
 
  And Kevin's view on the net?
 
  "I don't know what the medium is to make everybody happy," Kevin
  said, "but safety comes first."
 
  Those close to the rink say if new dasher boards with taller glass
  panels could be installed, that would eliminate the need for
  netting. But they also say it's not a simple construction job; the
  entire arena would have to be structurally altered, at a cost of
  about $750,000.
 
  The addition of the netting cost an estimated $5,000, including
  parts and labor.
 
  The type of netting now found at the academy is the wave of the
  future, according to Darryl Seibel, spokesman for Colorado
  Springs-based USA Hockey, the national governing body for amateur
  hockey.
 
  "Our people in risk management say rink owners should cover as much
  of the rink as possible," Seibel said. "We're trying to keep the
  cost of hockey affordable. If insurance costs soar, that increase
  will eventually be passed on to the spectators.
 
  "At the same time, you have to make sure you're not completely
  sacrificing your customer."
 
  Mr. Customer, meet Mr. Monofilament.
 
  "The folks at Air Force are out in front on this," Seibel said.
  "There are 1,200 enclosed rinks (those in buildings) in the country;
  less than 10 percent have netting. It's something that's going to
  continue to change.
 
  "We've been working with people on the design of this netting. It
  creates a much less-obstructed view for the spectator. This product
  is trying to provide a happy medium."
 
 --end of article--
 
 Then, the next day this appeared in the article on the CC-DU series:
 (http://www.usa.net/gtwork/archive/Friday,_January_12,_1996.arc/spt011.html)
 
 --begin excerpt--
 
    NETTING UPDATE: AFA officials decided Thursday to not hang mono-
    filament netting on the east side of Cadet Ice Arena, reversing an
    earlier decision to enclose the rink. While the netting will remain on
    the west side, rink officials have been directed to research the
    height of glass panels of National Hockey League venues.
 
 --end excerpt--
 
 So apparently they're doing some research before putting it up on both sides.
 Personally, I sit on the west side for CC games, and I noticed it a little
 at the St. Cloud games back in Dec. after they first put it up, but it doesn't
 really bother me much. You can still see through it pretty much. It does
 show up on camera when I've seen highlights of the games on the news, but
 that's hard to avoid as the tv cameras are on a platform at the top of one
 of the sections on the west side. There are quite a few people, though, who
 think the setup right now is unfair and that there either should be no nets
 or nets on both sides, not just one.
 
 Karen Heasley
 Colorado College '95
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 1995 WCHA Regular Season Champions
 CC Hockey home page: http://www.cc.colorado.edu/sports/hockey/
 
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