By Pat Murphy

It’s 10:00 on Saturday night at Macalester, and campus is dead. Where is everyone? They’re out watching everyone’s favorite Mac team, Club Hockey, doing battle with 40 year-olds at Charles Schulz Ice Arena on Snelling. Why, you may ask, do Mac students come out in droves to watch a game of puck on a Saturday night? Well, it’s tough to describe to someone who hasn’t been to a game. The combination of several hundred inebriated and rowdy students going wild in the stands, with loud music, and the thrill of the game is a can’t-miss. To anyone wondering if the journey up Snelling to see a game is worth it, just ask someone who was at the game the Saturday before Thanksgiving Break.

The Scots were taking on the bitter rival men’s league team, the Lumberjax. By the time the puck dropped at 10:15, the arena was already rocking. A steady diet of guilty pleasure hits coupled with gangster rap had the 300+ Mac students on their feet and ready to party. And party they would. The game started fast with both teams lighting the lamp early and often. Not only was there scoring, but plenty of hard hits and penalties to keep things violent and interesting. The club games are supposed to be non-checking, but there are plenty of scrums regardless – much to the pleasure of everyone in the arena other than the over-worked and under-paid referees.

The game moved along, and the number of students in the stands only got bigger. With cheers led by Will “the screamin’ banshee” Chen, the fans energized the Mac squad throughout. With only minutes to play in the third period, the Scots were up 6-4 and looking to call it a night with a nice W over the ‘Jax, but the old timers weren’t about go out easily. After pulling their goalie to add an extra attacker, the ‘Jax managed to close the gap with two minutes to play. Everyone’s worst fears became reality when the Lumberjax scored again to tie the game with less than a minute to play. The stands went silent, holding their breath as tension filled the building. The Lumberjax, gaining confidence, started talking trash to the fans. But the arena wouldn’t stay quiet for long after forward Dan Allen ’12 completed a hat trick with his third goal of the game – taking back the lead with seven seconds to play. The crowd went insane with the Scots winning in the most dramatic fashion in recent memory on the rink.

If you want to be a part of the action, the Scots take the ice again this Saturday at Highland at 10:00.