Quyen Slotznick/YH

Last Saturday night, we should have been studying for our Psych midterm. We could have been playing pong in the God Quad or crashing PiPhi Crush. But we were driving a borrowed car to Quinnipiac University, and we were hopelessly lost. We were following directions—given to us via text message—that involved driving a half hour up Whitney Ave., turning at a Dunkin’ Donuts, and driving up a veritable mountain in Hamden until we saw people.

After 40 minutes of missed exits and wrong turns (it turns out there are more than 500 Dunkin’ Donuts within 50 miles of New Haven), we found what we were looking for: the hockey rink at the TD Banknorth Sports Center. We’d like to think this makes us dedicated fans of Yale Men’s Hockey.

And we don’t mean to brag about our dedication, but honestly, have you gone to every home game for the past three seasons? Can you identify Yale players based solely by their flow? Did you know about the free beer room in the basement of Ingalls during each home game? Do you know who is the favorite player of Roland Betts, JE ’68, (the Senior Fellow of the Yale Corporation, and former owner of the Texas Rangers)? Do you believe each home hockey game should be treated with the respect given to each football game (i.e., face paint, generous tailgating at Bulldog Burrito)? And did you make the harrowing drive to—shudder—QPac to cheer on the team at its last regular-season game? If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you are Denny Kearney’s, PC ’11, dad, Bear Handlon, BK ’10, or lying.

For the record, Betts’ fave is Broc Little, SM ’11—Betts thinks he’s a fabulous player.

Fans make all the difference. We know this because for some reason Canada continues to win Olympic gold despite the team’s Sidney Crosby-radiated douchiness. Canadian fans cheer louder; Canadian hockey teams win in overtime. The same can be said for Yale. How many home games has Yale lost since tickets started selling out at Ingalls last year? Like two?

Now if you want to sit in the student section, you have to get your tickets days in advance and arrive at the rink an hour before face off (or at least send your sober friend to save seats). And the Harvard-Yale game? We had to call every single person in our lengthy contacts lists to find a spare ticket after going to the bookstore a week in advance and coming up empty.

It almost makes us nostalgic for the days of the ’07-’08 season when we could stroll through the doors halfway through the second period, flash our school IDs, and take a seat right behind the glass. But as true Yale Hockey fans, we’re forced to welcome the Ingalls newbies and force a smile as we explain what sick flow means, and why Jimmy Martin, ES ’11, is soft for shaving his head midseason. After all, the more the merrier, and we know the boys thrive off the crowds. As one defenseman so eloquently said, “Oh, yeah, it’s the best…”

So now we happily make friends with all supporters in the stands. A few weeks ago, one Cold War TA was so enthusiastic about watching the game that he physically threatened a Yale undergrad that was standing in the first row and obstructing his view. A certain six-year-old fan called “Champ” squeals every time his favorite player, defenseman Kevin Peel, SM ’12, gets on the ice. The Forestry and Nursing School students who were lucky enough to sit behind us at the Harvard-Yale game couldn’t stop talking about how Yale Hockey games were more fun than their entire undergraduate experience.

So anyway, while we were at the Quinnipiac game last weekend, we noticed something strange—the entire student section was a sea of yellow (featuring BEAT YALE shirts that we bought to cure breast cancer, and also because they offered us a QPac student discount). We tripped over about 30 yellow phallic-shaped noisemakers on the way to our seats.

Even the pipes were painted yellow. David Swensen, GRD ’80, we know the endowment is suffering—but we’ve seen you at the games. You actually sat in our row that one time. Can’t we put a little money towards some tangible spirit? We love boxing matches between Captain Freedom and Handsome Dan, but where is our free face paint? Where is the “QPac Sucks” car, paid for by the University, for Yale students to demolish before the game?

We maintain that Yale fans have more heart (forward Andrew Miller, BR ’13, agrees—when asked who was more enthusiastic, Yale or Quinnipiac, the answer was a resounding “Yale”) and a greater love of Freedom, but we hockey fans need more administrative and financial attention. The Q-Packers were so enthusiastic, it was like they were at Seaside Heights, or singing “Livin’ on a Prayer” at Saturday Toad’s. And we’re pretty sure all of it was driven by the free crap they were getting to cheer their team on.

Anyway, the regular season is over, Kevin Peel, SM ’12, has shaved his head, and we’re not sure what we’re going to do with our Saturday afternoons now that we’re not drinking margaritas at one p.m. We’ll be following the playoffs from Cancún and eagerly awaiting to meet next year’s recruits at Bulldog Days. No, really, Chloe will show them a good time. In the upcoming offseason and future budget planning, we ask just two things: Remember the hard-core hockey fans (we’re pretty sure we just proved we deserve the credit for two ECAC titles) and recruit Ryan Miller.