I
graduated from Oakland University in 1995. At that time, sports were an
afterthought in what was largely a commuter school. There was a Division II
basketball team, some prominent DII swimming and diving programs, a baseball team,
and, to my knowledge, not much else. Things are much changed these days, as
Oakland University is growing up and developing into a major educational power
in the state, and even region. The campus now boasts twice as many buildings as
when I went there, including a new medical school and impressive clock tower.
It is nationally ranked in US News and World Report, coming in at #311 of the
country’s nearly 4800 colleges and universities.
The
school’s athletics went to Division I status in 1998, and today, OU sports play
a much more prominent role in university and regional life, mainly through its
basketball team. Indeed, tonight, OU is playing basketball on ESPN2
(unthinkable in my OU days).
Of
course, I am here to watch the OU hockey team. Or, rather, the OU club hockey team. There is no varsity OU
hockey team funded by the university. Rather, this team is technically a
student club so, other than a very small stipend given to them by the
university, the club is on it’s own when it comes to money. The players
themselves actually pay thousands of dollars to play here. No scholarships. The
team pays for its own jerseys, equipment, ice time, locker room space. transportation,
and hotel accommodations for road trips. The team plays under the sanctioning
American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), a professional organization
acting as overlord of these not quite ready for prime time university hockey
programs. Many universities have prominent club hockey teams, and players are
recruited as if they were varsity programs. The OU club hockey team began in
1999, and has won three national championships since it’s inception, the latest
one coming in 2007. A fair amount of their players have gone pro, and few have
even played for Team USA squads in various overseas tournaments. Home games for
OU typically have anywhere from 100 to 300 spectators, many of them girlfriends
or parents of the players.
I’m
pretty familiar with this setup. For five years, I volunteered as the
scorekeeper for the OU team. It was an interesting experience, learning about game
day operations, a facet of the game I had never been involved with. It was
often a stressful, exciting job. I had to watch every second of the game and
make sure the clock went on and off at the right time. I had to anticipate
stoppages, and do quick math on the fly, such as calculating times when players
with offsetting penalties or misconducts would be allowed back in the game.
Despite having watched thousands of games of hockey, my knowledge of the rules
were put to the test every night, and a few times I had to consult the referee
to get direction. I had to move very fast to get penalties up on the clock, then
get penalties off the clock after power play goals. I kept track of shots on
goal all while logging everything onto the official score sheet. This all had
to be done on a not user-friendly scoreboard control panel, and always before
the next faceoff, which was going to happen whether I had the scoreboard and
clock correct or not. Interestingly, despite OU being my alma mater, any partisanship
went out the window when I was working a game. I had to get everything done
quickly and correctly. The top priority, I learned very fast, is to get the
thing right and properly working. Indeed, I watched what the referee was doing
more than being concerned with whether my team winning or losing. With me in
the cramped space between the penalty boxes were the arena announcer and DJ,
and we had to get all do our jobs in concert to keep out of each other’s way. When
performed flawlessly, a scorekeeper/board operator is never noticed. If you
screw up, which I certainly did from time to time, the spotlight glares on you,
and you have two benches of players and coaches looking at you wondering what
the hell is going on. It was a challenge I enjoyed taking on. I even made my
own custom scoresheet, which I could fill out quickly when the time pressure
was on, then fill in the official sheet when I had more relaxed moments during
the game or intermission. 
The location between the penalty boxes made for
interesting banter between two players serving off-setting penalties, especially
if the same two were involved in a violent scrum only a few moments before.
Once, when I had my friend and his 9-year-old son with me in the penalty box area,
two players came into their respective boxes, cursing at each other like
sailors. When one of the players saw my friend’s son, he yelled at the other
player to watch his language, there was a child present (which he did!). You
gotta love hockey players.
When
scorekeeping, after the game was over, my duty was to get the scoresheet
completely filled out and get both coaches to sign it. Often, these coaches,
after a loss, were not nice about being bothered to do such a task. Being a
lawyer, I eat that kind of behavior for breakfast, so there were a few coaches
(always the visiting team coach, it seemed) who got it right back from me if
they were jerks. One coach refused to sign, citing something about the unfair officiating
by the referee. I told him that I could care less if he signed it, he could
wipe his ass with it for all I care. I dropped his copy in front of him and
walked away. I don’t think that ever happened to him before, judging from the
look on his face. Another coach said he wouldn’t sign it, but his assistant
would. When I asked where his assistant was, he shrugged his shoulders, telling
me he had no idea, and not with a pleasant demeanor. I told him I wasn’t going
to chase his assistant around the rink for his autograph, so take it or leave
it now, I don’t give a shit. He took it. The referees would have to sign it
too, but they were always professional and accommodating. Many would take the
sheet to see if they called an equal amount of penalties for both teams.
Referees, I learned, were more concerned about getting their calls right than
carrying on a feud with any coach or player. 
OU’s
home rink is the Onyx Ice Arena, located a few miles away from campus. The Onyx
is a functional suburban rink, but, like other rinks, it has the aesthetics of
a moderately new warehouse. Tonight is the first ever meeting between the
Niagara University Purple Monsters and the Grizzlies. OU, off to a fast start
this season, have recently cooled off and are now hovering around the .500
mark. I know absolutely nothing about the visiting team.
The
teams trade goals in the first period, not many penalties, just the kind of
game I liked as a scorekeeper. The pace, like many games in this league, is
choppy. Passes are often missed, and ones that connect often bounce off stick
blades. There’s a lot of stopping and
starting by the players during the play, reaching backward, off to their sides
or wherever to get the puck. There was nothing especially notable about the
goalies or their playing style. It was nice being able to watch the game without
stressing about the things I had to worry about as scorekeeper.
One
of the main joys of watching a game in an arena like this is that you get the
sounds of the game as well as the sights. The swish and cutting of the skate
blades, for instance, as well as the audible yelling of the players (TWO! TWO!).
The “poof” of a player’s protective equipment as they block a shot or get
slashed. Players yelling encouragement to their teammates. You could hear
coaches yelling at the referee in the always-eternal struggle existing between
these two forces. The noises of the game tonight are an aspect that you just don’t
get in the bigger arenas, along with the temperature. It’s cold in the arena,
but with temperatures hovering around zero outside, it’s more than tolerable.
The
game is tied 3-3 in the third period. Next to me, standing behind a homemade
table configured to fit on the rink’s bench spectator seating, is Corey Hagood,
GM of the club and my former “boss” when I was the scorekeeper. Corey is doing
play-by-play for the team’s internet broadcast, a function he serves every game,
home and away. Corey is the off-ice heart and soul of Golden Grizzlies hockey. He
does everything for this team except coach it and pop popcorn for the
concession stand. Corey has served 12 years with the Grizzlies in various
capacities, and, as far as I can tell, does it with a genuine love for the team
and the game itself. With the noises of the game and crowd enveloping us, I can
hear his voice rise in volume and excitement when the action takes a dramatic
turn. We exchange a quick but friendly hello during a break in the action.
After
some back and forth action and thwarted scoring chances by both teams, Niagara
pokes in a goal on a play the referee probably should have blown dead. Despite
a (make-up call) power play late in the third, OU fails to tie it and loses the
game 4-3. As is often the case in college hockey, the same teams would play
again the next night.
Despite
losing this game, I couldn’t help but think that the best days of OU hockey may
very well be in the not too distant future. In October, the university
announced that it had been given a grant by the NHL to explore the viability of
adding an on-campus DI varsity hockey program, only one of five schools
nationwide to get such consideration. Both the Red Wings and the NHL sees OU as
having great potential for a varsity hockey program for the further development
of players for the higher pro leagues in a hockey hotbed like the State of
Michigan. Only in my wildest dreams as an OU student in the early 90’s could I have
ever imagined the school having a hockey team on campus. No doubt that the hard
work and dedication that Corey and his cohorts (including, in some small way,
me) did laid the foundation for the OU brass to give serious consideration to
starting a program. It would be, along with the new medical school and clock
tower, another piece to bring OU even higher in stature.
And
I would be the first person in line to buy tickets.
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