The "V" Spot: Hockey Madness Tonight

The most frustrating part of having a beat is refraining from cheering in the press box.

A couple of months of following your team to God-forsaken regions of the country, shaving your GPA in the process, creates an almost primal urge to yell when that third period goal hits the back of the net.

But if my reaction exceeds a smile and perhaps a gentle pounding of the table, some official casts a disapproving glance in my direction

Fortunately, my beat--men's hockey--doesn't start until the end of the month. So please forgive this momentary lapse of objectivity when I say that I'm going to the Fifth Annual Hockey Madness tonight as a fan.

I plan on clapping, chanting, and maybe singing along with the band when it plays "Ten Thousand Men of Harvard."

Now for the real unprofessional statement: Every student should try and attend.

For those that don't know, hockey and not basketball is traditionally Harvard's premier winter sport. The Athletic Department holds a midnight madness (starting at 10 p.m. tonight) for the icemen at Bright Hockey Center.

No, I'm not an A.D. shill, but this really is an important event. Why, you ask?

First and foremost, this is our first chance to welcome back our national champion women's hockey squad--a team that was perhaps the most dominant Harvard has ever fielded in any sport.

This year, junior winger Tammy Shewchuk will attempt fill the skates of A.J. Mleczko '99, the Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey. The Crimson stand an excellent chance of keeping the title in Cambridge

If nothing else, these players deserve to hear the cheers of their fellow students whenever they take the ice at Bright Hockey Center.

While the women look to continue their Golden Age, this will be our first glimpse at a new era in men's hockey.

After five straight losing seasons, Harvard has a new head coach, Mark Mazzoleni. Just the fifth man to hold the hockey reins, Mazzoleni promises to return the Crimson to its former glory as a top team in the nation.

The Crimson certainly have some guns with the return of junior center Steve Moore and winger Chris Bala, both second round NHL draft picks. If new recruit Brett Nowak had declared himself eligible for the draft, Central Scouting projected he would have joined those two snipers as a second round selection.

Tonight is also the first time the freshmen take the ice in their full Harvard uniforms. And Trevor Allman, Sally Maloney, and Kim McNamana will take their first laps with the captains' 'C' on their jersey.

Hopefully, just once Mazzoleni will release a "Smoores" line matching Steve and senior defenseman Mark Moore with little brother Dominic.

But this night isn't for a dramatic unveiling of the teams. Neither squad has held official practices with the coaches present. This night is for some fun at the frozen pond.

Both the men and women's squad will scrimmage. Inevitably, someone will stage a fight--perhaps a triple threat with the brothers Moore? For my money, I'd take sophomore defenseman Angela Ruggiero pound-for-pound in any scrap, male or female.

After the games, the seniors will stage a skills competition. And throughout the night, the fans will have the opportunity to win some goodies, with the earliest, most eager arrivers receiving a Hockey Madness T-shirt.

Five lucky fans will have the opportunity to win $50,000. That's right: five students will be chosen at random to take three shots from center ice at a hole in the goal approximately eight inches across.

Sink one, and you receive $100. Bag two and you get a cool $25,000. Score the first hat trick of the season and you'll receive nearly two years worth of tuition in cash.

Now that's true madness.

The Athletic Department has planned this event to rekindle student interest in Harvard hockey.

Earlier this decade, Bright was sold out for nearly every men's home game.

The cold barn was a terror for visiting teams as the Crimson's creative faithful heckled without relent. Now, the opposition is as likely to find its own fans as Harvard's.

"This gives us a chance to increase our face recognition among the students," Mazzoleni said. "They'll have the opportunity to see our players outside of the pressure situation of a game, without their helmets at times, and start to form a relationship with them."

Certainly a new bond between the athlete and the student-fan is needed. Hopefully, Harvard will once again incorporate into its culture support for hockey and all varsity athletics. Showing up for The Game doesn't cut it. We need a cadre of Crimson crazies.

If you're worried about Harvard interfering with your weekend debauchery, all home games start at 7 p.m. and will have you out by 10, leaving plenty of time for other activities.

More likely, if you complain about there being no social scene on campus, and being too stressed from work (and trust me if you're not there now, the crunch is coming), I guarantee that there's no better palliative then mercilessly raining down "Sieve! Sieve! Sieve!" at the visiting netminder.

Well, I can't actually guarantee that since I never get to cheer from the press box.

But I can tonight.

Look for me, I'll be wearing a Martin Brodeur Devils road jersey. Hope to see you there.

Let the madness begin.