The Fighting Illini. Literally

Last night, Mike and I did something we've been meaning to do since we moved to Champaign. We finally attended an Illini hockey game.

I used to follow NHL hockey quite regularly, and my team was the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeremy Roenick, Tony Amonte, Chris Chelios, and Eddie Belfour were my heroes, and I tried to catch every Blackhawk game on TV that I could. I also didn't discriminate, pretty much as long as hockey was on TV I tried to watch it. I never did get to an NHL game, but we did go to Milwaukee Admirals games. I didn't know the players as well, but we always had a lot of fun.

I ended up with a free pair of tickets to Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan. I figured the chances of us seeing a win were pretty good, as Eastern Michigan was 4-13 as of Friday afternoon, and Illinois was 14-2 (and they were last year's ACHA champion).

It was fairly easy to find the ice arena, and I even lucked into a parking space in one of the nearby lots. The seating at the arena was general admission with bleachers on the upper level. We grabbed coffee and hot chocolate at the concession stand and went upstairs to find some seats. We ended up in one of the corners looking down on the ice. We were incredibly close to the action, and when play started and some of the shots boomed off the glass below us, I really felt like we were in the game.

During the first period we were on the defending side, and we saw Eastern Michigan score one goal. It turned out to be the only goal they scored at all. And the traditions we saw at Admirals games were also observed during the Illini game. When the Illini scored, the crowd erupted in cheers of "it's all your fault" and during Billy Idol's Mony Mony they chanted "hey, you suck!". Can't you just feel the love in the air?

At the end of the first period the Illini were leading 3-1. During intermission, there was a five minute exhibition of the Champaign-Urbana Youth Hockey club. That was a lot of fun seeing all the little kids skating around with sticks bigger than they were. It was kind of like watching someone trying to herd cats. There was lots of falling down and lost pucks, but a couple of goals were scored and everyone had a lot of fun. Then it was time for the Zamboni to come out and resurface, which meant the Zamboni song had to be played.

We stayed in our seats during the second period, and got to see three more goals since Eastern Michigan was defending that side. There were also a lot of crashes into the boards below us, and you could see that some tempers were starting to fray a bit.

At the end of the second period, we decided to go downstairs and secure a spot on the other end in front of the glass. It was colder down there, but we were right in the action. A couple of times the players would come whizzing by, and while there were no crashes directly in front of us, there were plenty nearby. We saw more goals scored and banged on the glass in celebration.

And then, with 1:48 left to go in the third period, all hell broke loose. I think it started by a spectacular crash with a player practically upended. Those two players were thrown in the penalty box with a 10 minute game misconduct, and play resumed. Next thing we knew, helmets, gloves, an sticks were on the ice, and two players were going at it. The refs tried to separate, but couldn't get between them. Then another two started in on each other. As we're watching the two fights, I look towards center ice, and the goalies are going at it! The whole crowd was up on their feet, and the fights just kept going. Finally, the refs were able to break up the fight. The goalies stopped fighting, and in the true spirit of hockey shook hands and man-hugged afterwards. Everybody went to their benches, and the refs started trying to sort out the penalties. I'm pretty sure that the only two players who weren't involved in the fight were the ones already in the box. The annoucer kept trying to call the penalties, but he kept getting confused. In the meantime, the three groups that had been fighting were escorted off the ice. When everything was finally sorted out (and it probably took a good 10 minutes), those players had been disqualified from the game. Yes, even the goalies! At this point we decided to leave, since the score was 9-1. (I checked this morning, and the final was 10-1).

We've already decided that we are going back. Due to winter break, the next home game isn't until January. And I know that not every game will be as exciting, but it was a lot of fun for not a lot of money-tickets are only $7. Concessions are reasonable too (but it's college, so no beer!) If you're in the Chambana area looking for something to do, check out a game. And dress warmly, the ice is cold!!!