The joys of being a New England hockey fan - travels/games last weekend ...
Once again needing to satisfy our college hockey addiction, and in
anticipation of Monday night's Beanpot games, Linda and I braved the cold
temps (at least for New England) for 5 games in 4 days.
Feb. 2, Friday night, Massachusetts at BC. This was a tough one for Eagles'
fans, as the referee called 2 penalties in the first minute of the game to
give the Minutemen a 5-on-3 advantage. They scored a first goal, and
followed that with a second one at full strength to set the tone for the
first period. UMass was faster, quicker, and more motivated throughout the
period, completely dominating play for a 3-0 lead at the break. I don't
know if BC was looking ahead to the Beanpot, or UMass was just extra-ready,
but it was a disappointing start for the Eagles. Things improved a bit in
the second period, and BC got a goal to start a hoped-for comeback, but
then gave one back in short order. Again they tried to mount a comeback in
the third, and got back to 4-2, but Cory Schneider (having an
uncharacteristic poor game) let in a weak outside slap shot for the nail in
the coffin. A late goal led to a 5-3 final score, with UMass celebrating a
strong win in an arena they have had little past success. The Eagles'
faithful were understandably nervous about the prospects in the Beanpot
after this one.
Okay, one game down. No BC game on Saturday due to the Beanpot, so what to
do, what game to see? Linda wants to go to Springfield to watch Bentley
play at AIC. We follow Bentley as she has a degree from there and we attend
some Bentley games when possible. Also, we had never seen a game at AIC,
and as good hockey fan lifers, we want to see as many rinks as possible.
So that seemed a good bet. But Rick (yours truly) wants to go see Wesleyan
play, after months of reading Dave Hendrickson's rapturous praise of their
team. Dave writes USCHO's Hockey East column when he isn't moonlighting as
the assistant sports promotion officer for Wesleyan. Dave also once was a
contributor to Hockey-L in the busier times before the web, and in those
earlier times we met his son Ryan at games/tournaments. Well, Ryan is now
the senior co-captain for Wesleyan, and I wanted to see him play before his
career was over. As it turns out, Wesleyan is playing Conn. College at 3
PM, and the Bentley-AIC game isn't until 7 PM. The 2 locations are only an
hour or so apart - perfect!
Into the new SUV, onto the Mass Pike. A beautiful, sunny, cold day. Listen
to BC basketball absolutely scorch Virginia Tech on the radio. We find
Wesleyan okay, and Linda is envious of the nice athletic center (relatively
new and clean, basketball arena, field house, hockey rink, workout areas,
swimming pool, all connected in one complex.) 3 events at once (basketball,
hockey, swim meet.) No admission cost anywhere. Not bad. Just before the
game starts, Dave H makes his appearance, and he greets us warmly after his
surprise at seeing us. Wesleyan has a slight advantage in the game and gets
off to a 1-0 lead. But ConnCollege quickly scores twice in the middle frame
to give themselves a shot at the upset (you would have thought they were
winning the national title the way they jumped off the bench at each goal.)
Dave and the other Wesleyan fans point out (politely) that the ref is a bum
and that he's missing a good game, and they are nervous going to the third.
(Dave probably won't believe this, but he doesn't seem to have the same
objectivity watching his son's team play as when he watches other games.
Imagine that ...) Early in the final period, Wesleyan cashes in on a power
play, but they can't pull ahead. Finally, their star senior forward comes
down the wing and just scorches a slapper for the winning score. The home
fans are happy, and the Wesleyan students are taunting the ConnCollege fan
section (nice to know D-3 has just as many rivalries/idiocies as the rest.)
We wait until Ryan makes his post-game appearance to congratulate him, he
says he remembers us (we hope it's true, but Ryan is nice enough to say he
remembers even if he doesn't ...) It was nice to visit with them, the game
was competitive and entertaining, but we can't stay -- there's another game
to get to.
Back on the highway, up I-91 through Hartford and Springfield, off the
highway, lost in the backroads (missed our turn - no street sign
!!@@##$$!!) Back to the Olympia Ice Center, which is a larger complex with
3 rinks, all with action. The Bentley-AIC game is in the biggest rink,
$4.00 to get in (AIC is not a major draw.) Simultaneously, Western New
England College is playing Framingham State in the second rink, and that
costs $5.00 to get in - go figure. Hey, AIC got 301 attendance, WNEC just
118. You think the extra buck was the difference?
Bentley comes out fairly flat, having a poor road record, while AIC has been
playing better, especially at home. The rink is cold, the crowd is sparse,
and we're watching through the nylon protective mesh. AIC lost to Bentley
the night before, but it is all AIC this evening, as they win 5-2. The best
aspect of the game was the fact that the Olympia is large enough to have a
real snack bar, run by a local pizza shop. We get real food instead of
microwaved crap. If only Bentley had the same at their games at the local
municipal rink ... (WNEC beats Framingham State, 6-4.)
Back on the road, headed home, listening to pro hockey games on the way.
Get gas before running out, but one more stop to make. MA now has 2 Red
Robin burger restaurants, and I'm on a mission to visit one (they have
yummy but not-lowfat food.) Off at Worcester, find the restaurant, have
dinner. Close the place down (it's now 11:30 PM), watch Texas A&M knock
off Kansas, home to bed.
Sunday, a quiet day, watch basketball, hockey, etc. Ignore Super Bowl and
its hype. Still cold, clear. Monday, back to work, but it's a short day,
as we have the 2 games of the Beanpot semis to attend. The Garden has been
mildly renovated to upgrade the concessions/bars/restaurants, and they have
a big new scoreboard with really nice, clear replay video. First game,
lots of hype and hope that Northeastern will break through and knock off
BU. Uh-uh, not going to happen. Curry is a very good senior goalie, and
Theissen is a freshman from Canada seeing his first Beanpot. He isn't bad,
but he's not a winner this night either. 4-0 BU. Nightcap, Harvard and
BC. Harvard had a bad start to the season but managed to play one good
game early, their 4-0 pasting of BC back in November. BC has had good
games, and not-so-good games, not bad but not as strong as expected.
Harvard was handicapped by having to play a full weekend of ECAC games,
while BC just had the Friday night contest.
The Eagles come out with a fair amount of energy, and the game is
back-and-forth for a good while. Harvard scores first on a partially
screened shot that Schneider wishes he had back, then BC ties it on an
outside shot that seemed to skip and fool Kyle Richter in the Crimson net.
BC takes a lead on a shorthanded Nate Gerbe rush and quick backhand shot,
and Harvard has a hard time finding offense against an aggressive and
forechecking BC team. The third period is almost all BC, as Harvard seems
to tire and can't keep up with the pace of the BC forecheck. A late empty
netter produces the 3-1 final. Finally, out into the cold, to home, to
bed. Work early tomorrow ...
Weekends like this are what make following college hockey so much fun for
me. In the New England area we have many games in drivable distances so we
can almost always find games to attend that are entertaining. We get to
see the teams we follow, but also other teams and rinks. We meet old
friends and share stories and good times. We learn that the Olympia Ice
Center tries to blow your ears out with the overloud music, that
rinks/benches are colder than ever, that the Garden still has some of the
most overpriced food in the universe. I look at the student fans and
realize that I miss the days of being in college; I look at my wife (who is
as big or even bigger sports fan than I am) and realize I am one of the
luckiest people in the world. I assume everyone else has similar
experiences, even if the circumstances are different. It's part of what
makes hockey, and college hockey, a small world, and it's part of what
makes life enjoyable. Nine more weeks left in this season -- lots of games
yet to watch!
Rick McAdoo
A tired BC fan (after all the games ...)
GO EAGLES!
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