>but i agree that the idea of clearing the arena of fans
>is a good one... -- is there a precedent for it?
 
Greetings from a fellow hockey-L Xeriod.
From the RIT Hockey 1992-93 program:
 
"When an errant soda can hit the referee during the RIT-Canton
contest in 1972, officials ordered the building cleared, and the game
continued with a virtual empty rink as fans peered and cheered
through the windows at the end of the rink"
 
Also of interest:
 
"When a streaking fad swept the nation in 1974, the RIT-St. John
Fisher game (3/6/74) abruptly halted as approximately 40 streakers
suddendly appeared made one quick pass around the walkway, and
exited just as rapidly".
 
As far as tennis balls go, the RIT-Oswego games of the late 70's
and early 80's used to have ugly scenes of RIT fans throwing oranges
and Oswego fans hurling limes (school colors) during games, often at
the same time, since many fans of the opposing school would travel.  Repeated
warnings and the ejection of troublemakers eventually
put a stop to the nonsense, but not without a twist - for a few
games after rink officials started cracking down, the fans would hold
onto their projectiles until the final buzzer, when they would then
pelt the opposing bench.
 
Fortunately, as the mid-80's most of the fans began to notice that both schools
were playing great hockey (several NCAA trips for both teams - 2 titles for
RIT) and what happened on the ice at these games became
the focal point.
 
 
Chris Lerch
Xerox
RIT '84 & '91