Even though the NCAA Frozen Four tournament took place in Washington, D.C. Saturday, Agganis Arena, 436 miles away and packed with fans who couldn’t make the trek, still exploded when the Boston University men’s hockey team tied up the final game.
‘I was hugging random people I never met before,’ College of General Studies sophomore Ben DiCandilo.
BU students, alumni and faculty gathered at Agganis Arena Thursday and Saturday to cheer on the hockey team while they battled the University of Vermont and Ohio’s Miami University to victory. The event, hosted by the Student Activities Office and the Dean of Students, featured free ice skating, food and several screens broadcasting the games.
Students sporting masks, jerseys and body paint said they were excited to watch the championship games in the same arena in which they had seen the Terriers play all season.
CGS sophomore Stephen O’Nan watched the game at Agganis with two ‘pretty hardcore’ friends. He said that he looked at them when the game-tying goal was scored with about a minute left in regulation and knew that victory was imminent.
‘They were very excited, and at that point, I realized BU could actually do it,’ O’Nan said. ‘The momentum had shifted so much . . . I kind of knew that BU was going to win at that point.’
College of Fine Arts sophomore Tom Fuchs said the nail-biting end of the championship game was best enjoyed in the group atmosphere.
‘It was earth-shattering sound after the second goal,’ Fuchs said. ‘It was incredible. Everyone was jumping, screaming, throwing popcorn, confetti and everything. Everyone was taking pictures with their cell phones of the screen. It was a lot of fun. People did not stop screaming and yelling for five minutes straight.’
CGS sophomore Kady D’Addario said she’d been coming to BU games since she was young and that she loves Terrier Hockey.
‘It’s not the same without Jesus and the Hotdog, but it’s a lot better than setting in your room alone,’ D’Addario said about the viewing party.
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said a parade is planned for Tuesday to celebrate the national championship. Elmore said the parade will start in Kenmore Square and will feature duck boats, cake and screens to view some of the tournament highlights outside of Marsh Chapel at the end of the parade route.
‘We needed to do something befitting, and this sounded like a nice thing to do,’ Elmore said.
Classes will not be canceled for the parade, Elmore said.
Staff writer Jackie Reiss contributed to the reporting of this story.
