They can’t wait to skate at Fenway
Members of the Boston College and Boston University men’s hockey programs were in shorts and polo shirts in the dugout at Fenway Park yesterday.
The next time the teams see each other at the home of the Red Sox, they’ll need a lot more layers.
Yesterday, the official announcement came that the squads will drop the puck around second base at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8, one week after the Bruins face the Flyers in the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.
The contest between the Terriers, who are the defending NCAA champions, and the Eagles, who won the title in 2008, will be preceded by a women’s game between Northeastern and the University of New Hampshire at 4 p.m. They will be the second and third hockey games ever played at Fenway.
The outdoor scene will be reminiscent of what many college players grew up experiencing. Northeastern forward Annie Hogan remembered playing hockey in the snow in Medford. The goal then wasn’t to beat a bitter rival, but to not beat up her skates.
“I always used to get mad - my Dad told me I couldn’t use my good skates,’’ said Hogan. “They were always a size too small, last year’s skates, not very cool skates. He didn’t want me to ruin my skates for when it mattered.’’
UNH defender Courtney Sheary drew some bragging rights out of the fact that she will play in the first women’s collegiate outdoor game. “We get to say we beat Wisconsin to it,’’ said Sheary, referring to the defending national champion Badgers, who will play an outdoor game in February.
BU coach Jack Parker said the event will mostly be about having fun. He said he was just happy to be at Fenway yesterday, hanging out in the dugout of a park he’s been going to since he was 8 and where he is now a season ticket-holder.
Parker said that he and BC coach Jerry York (for whom the Fenway contest will be a home game) have been trying to bring a game to the park for years but have been turned down because of winter-long construction.
“It’s something to show off college hockey - men’s and women’s - to a broader audience,’’ said Parker. “It’s mostly for the students who are playing in the game and for the families. They get to witness this firsthand. Their sons and daughters will never get to do that again.’’
The concept is still strange to some.
“If you told me, as a small Midwestern boy, that I’d be coaching women’s college hockey someday, I’d probably think that you’d be drinking,’’ said NU coach Dave Flint. “If you told me I’d be coaching women’s hockey at Fenway, I know you’d be drinking.’’
Everyone is well aware that weather could be the X factor.
“We saw the pros [in the Winter Classic] and it looks like the only thing they didn’t warm-up was their faces,’’ said Northeastern’s Lindsay Berman. “Once we get our adrenaline going, I’m sure we’ll be fine. We’re just worried about the fans.’’
