Memories From the Penalty Box

"What goes on down on the ice?"

Many Crimson sportswriters have asked me that question. For the better part of two years, I've covered men's hockey games out of the unshielded penalty boxes at Bright Hockey Center.

And what an adventure it's been.

In my very first game, I actually didn't realize I could shoot pictures from the box until after the first period had passed. A fellow editor spotted me on the uncomfortable camera box and directed me to the sin bins. There, I men Kristina Kalan '95, the Indy photographer. She had some advice for me.

"Watch out for pucks."

I nodded. Sure. No problem--just duck away.

Two minutes later, I took a puck directly in the arm. It stung for a while.

Since then, I've been hit by ricocheting pucks, nailed in the head by a stick, bumped into by players, checked from behind and even sprayed with ice from a skidding player.

But all that's nothing compared to the vicious hits I've seen players take going into the plexiglass of the scorer's booth or headfirst into the wall. And besides, I disovered that being dangerously close to the action was, well, downright exciting. You see and hear things that most student fans miss.

For example, I didn't realize that the fans in Section 11 don't hear what's shouted on the ice by Harvard coach Ronn Tomassoni. A few examples:

."DEEP! DEEP!" which apparently means to dump the puck in the zone;

."SKATE!" which means to skate quickly down the ice;

."GO GET!" which means, obviously, to get the puck;

."HIGGIE'S UP!" which mean's that Henry Higdon's forward line was next to play; and

."HARRY! HARRY! WHAT WAS THAT, HARRY?!?" when ECAC referee Harry Ammiam makes a bad call.

Some people ask me about blood. I didn't think that any bloody injuries were possible, considering the face masks players wear and the plexiglass present. But I've seen bloody noses, bloody hands and even a bloody cut to the back of junior Ashlin Halfnight's leg.

But the worst was this past January, when a puck somehow hit a woman in the head and left her with a stream of blood down the side of her face. Having plexiglass between her and me didn't make it bearable.

I generally stay out of the players' way when they come in for penalties--usually they aren't in the best of moods. But I've talked a little with freshman Peter Zakowich, the backup goalie. One such conversation:

Peter: "Hey, check out that ref."

Me: "What about him?"

Peter: "Check out his eyebrows. They're all plucked. I'll trim mine and stuff, but never pluck them all out like that."

Sure enough, the ref plucked. He looked strange.

I've witnessed players jawing at Harvard players when matching minors (usually for roughing) were assessed. But our guys never respond to their sneering, provocative remarks. They usually respond with hard checks into the plexiglass by Section 12 after the penalty.

There was one interesting question from a few Acadia Axemen to senior Tripp Tracy during an exhibition game last fall.

"Hey, Tracy, where's a place to go to have a good time after the game?"

The Grille and some Boston night-clubs were graciously offered by the goaltender of the host team.

I covered my last game last week against Clarkson. During the third period, I thought of the things that I would never witness again--a crowd of students shouting "Sieve!" while pointing at the opposing goalie, or the Harvard Band playing the James Bond theme between periods or defensemen Peter McLaughlin checking a hapless opposing forward into the wall.

And then a puck zoomed in and hit me in the leg.

Later that night, I discovered in my negatives a picture of Tracy lunging for the puck, frozen in midair. And