Saturday’s hockey game against defending national champions Boston College turned out to be an epic affair that will surely be remembered by all who attended. It involved everything that makes college hockey the best collegiate sport in New England, including a raucous sold-out arena, an NU squad that’s ready for a magical season and a David vs. Goliath cross town rivalry pinning the Huskies against the No. 1 ranked team in the country.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my Northeastern experience thus far, but like many others, I have always wondered what it would be like to go to a big time football school like Ohio State and Michigan, or a basketball school like Duke or North Carolina. On Saturday night, we all got a taste of that experience. There was a tailgate outside of the Matthews Arena, a line of more than 2,000 students stretching more than a block and a half waiting to get tickets, and a full Doghouse not only watching warm-ups, but also being a part of the game before it even started. On Saturday night we became a big time hockey school, right up there with the likes of North Dakota and Minnesota.
As a freshman in 2005-06, I watched this team struggle to win three games, and I also watched the Doghouse struggle to fill three rows. Only in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine there would be a buzz throughout campus for an athletic event (not including any of the four professional teams), and I never would have imagined a game being sold out before the game. Only in my wildest dreams did I ever think that the ghosts of Matthews Arena would be awoken while I was a student here.
On Saturday night, those dreams came true. I got countless e-mails from concerned students worried that they weren’t going to be able to get tickets. I heard kids at Chicken Lou’s talking about how excited they were to go to the game. And the ghosts of the arena were definitely awoken in the third period when Joe Vitale was able to score the game winning goal because of a puddle that formed in front of the BC net. The puddle was caused by the capacity crowd, which was creating too much heat for the fresh coat of water to melt.
There have been recent steps to create more school spirit on campus, and I have seen major improvements in my four years here. Saturday’s game was the cornerstone for the school spirit movement. Everyone was rocking their black NU gear at the game, creating one of the best blackouts in recent Doghouse history. And not only did they wear it to the game, they wore it out after. I saw tons of NU shirts on campus post game and heard kids discussing how amazing the game was. School spirit has arrived here on Huntington Avenue, and I have never been prouder to be a Husky.
Don’t forget, the next home hockey game is Saturday, Nov. 1 agasint New Hampshire. There will be more ghosts in the arena as it is costume night in the Doghouse. Wear your costume to the game before you go out; there might even be a prize for best costume. See you all at the game. Go Huskies!
– Tim Fouche is a junior pharmacy major and president of the Doghouse.
