Jeff Beyer writes:
 
>With Whitworth's goal came the annual deluge of tennis balls aimed at Konte.
>(This tradition goes back to 1992, when Dartmouth fans, in response to a tennis
>ball showering of their goalie when the two teams played in New Jersey, fought
>back by pelting Princeton's goalie when the two teams faced off again that year
>in Hanover.
>Since then, the tradition has stuck: when the two teams play in New Hampshire,
>the tennis balls come down immediately after Dartmouth's first goal.)
 
>Incidentally, I would be interested in what other Hockey-L'ers opinions are of
>this tradition, and how you all feel this compares with, say, the Cornell fish
>tradition during the Harvard game at Lynah.
>That's a discussion for Hockey-L, not Info-Hockey-L, I suppose.  But feel free
>to post your thoughts on this matter to Hockey-L.
 
>Anyway, as the balls came down, the refs immediately sent both teams off the
>ice, opting to end the period and tack the remaining 3:33 onto the start of the
>second period.
 
I'm pretty sure we discussed this last year -- maybe an archive search for
"tennis balls" or "fish" would turn it up. In any case, to rehash the Princeton
perspective: the tennis balls at Baker started in '91-'92, Don Cahoon's
first year. I'm not sure exactly why, other than the then-juniors had some
pretty rowdy friends who were very into the games. Cahoon absolutely
hated the growing "tradition" because it inevitably took away the
momentum Princeton had just gained by scoring as the rink crew needed
several minutes to clean up. Dartmouth fell victim to the barrage on Nov. 30,
1991 on the way to a 9-1 Princeton victory. Before the season ended, Cahoon
effectively curtailed the tennis-ball hijinx by writing a letter to the
student paper asking the students to stop and by going to the press box and
requesting the same after it occurred in the next game.
 
On Jan. 1, 1994, Dartmouth students turned the tables on the Tigers and
pelted James Konte with tennis balls and oranges after a Mike Stacchi
goal at 13:53 of the first period. Referees Mike Noeth and Marty McDonough
stopped the game, sent the teams to the lockerroom and tacked the remaining
6:07 onto the start of the second period. The Tigers scored five unanswered
goals and posted a 5-1 win. Cahoon credited the Dartmouth fans with halting
the Big Green momentum and helping the Tigers to victory.
 
I'll let somebody from the Cornell contingent tell the fish story, but I
will say that the Crimson have posted come-from-behind wins in a couple
of recent seasons after the fish caused a delay in the game.
 
I suppose the moral of the story is "it's only funny until your team
blows the lead it just gained."
 
Geoff Howell
Drop the Puck Magazine
 
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