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At the food court, a hockey game breaks out

By Walter G. Meyer

November 21, 2006

San Diego--There’s an old sports saying that a tie “is like kissing your sister.” A recent San Diego State-UCSD hockey game ended 6-6, and although the contest ended in a tie, it packed more climaxes than a sisterly kiss ever would have.

SDSU hockey players score at the food court (Photo: SDSUHockey.com)

With the minor league Gulls gone, college hockey is the next best thing in San Diego. (As most San Diegans probably didn’t know that San Diego had a professional hockey team over whose loss they could mourn, they are probably equally unaware that the two largest universities in town have their own teams.) Because hockey is a club sport rather than one governed by the NCAA, the schools play each other, and just about any other college with a team, without regard to the size of the school or what division it might be for other sports.

UCSD plays its home games in the food court at the University Town Center mall, under the watchful eye of Rubio’s, Panda Express, Royal India, Great Gyros and several other places which would add an international flair if any of those places were actually open beyond 10:00 p.m. However, since the games start at 10:45, the mall is a ghost town.

The UCSD pep band plays and their blue and white Hawaiian shirts seem out of place at a hockey game. Of course, there is something a bit surreal about hockey at midnight in a food court, anyway. Most of the fans appear to be college students, not die-hard Gulls fans in search of a fast puck. But many of the fans seem uneducated as to how to dress for a hockey game, and are freezing in their shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops. (Note: Hockey venues tend to be cold—something about the proximity of a large expanse of ice.)

And many fans seem unsure of the rules. At past games, I have heard references to quarters and quarterbacks and at this most recent contest someone asked me why they had called off the game. I pointed to the clock which read “0:00.” Time had run out. One fan asked if the orange armbands on the ref’s uniform inflated or were reflective. After one rough hit, a fan yelled, “Where’s the flag, ref?” and I think he was kidding. At least I hope he was. But the important thing is at least the fans came out. Almost 200 people lined the rails and boards of the ice rink when most college students would have been partying at such a late hour on a Friday night.

The puck and action move quickly from one end to the other, making for exciting play. They don’t even Zamboni the ice between the first and second periods, instead giving the teams and refs a two-minute breather, so one only has to sit around for the Zamboni run between the last two periods.

State and UCSD play each other so often and know each other so well, that their games are always fast and furious (emphasis on the “furious”). There’s plenty of hard-hitting and lots of fights. This game ended with five-minute major penalties to what seemed like half the guys who were on the ice when the riot broke out. State’s bench was exhorting the only one of their players not involved in the brawl to jump in, but he just shrugged. What was the point with only ten seconds left in regulation?

After the game, though, in addition to the traditional handshakes between the teams, there were some hugs and lot of laughing. It’s like wrestling a brother: For all the violence, it is all in fun, with no harm intended.

With all of the penalty minutes served by both teams, there was only one power-play goal in the see-saw contest. The tone was set for the high-scoring contest when the Aztecs snuck one in with only 21 seconds gone from the clock. The Tritons tied it within three minutes and at no time did either team lead by more than two goals. For all of the mad melees in front of the UCSD goal, State came away with very little. The first three minutes of the five-minute overtime were all played right in front of the UCSD goal, but the puck never entered the net and the game ended in a tie.

San Diego State’s home ice is the Kroc Center. Unlike UCSD, they do charge for their games, but it is only five bucks, and even cheaper for students. The seating accommodations are better, but limited, so an early arrival is a good idea to get a seat. More info on both schools’ teams and schedules can be found at:

http://recadmin.ucsd.edu/sports/teams/icehockey/

http://www.sdsuhockey.com/

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