It started as supporting a good cause, and hoping to see my husband’s alma mater compete. A little spring trip where we could also take two things off our bucket list while we were there. It was a gamble hoping one of our schools would make it to that point, but never did we expect what happened. When the NCAA Hockey Selection Show took place, we thought there was a good chance to see some schools we liked (or liked to cheer against) at the Frozen Four in Pittsburgh. What we got was 4 schools that we knew little about, and didn’t really have a reason to cheer for or against any of them. Still, a week ago, we made the trip to the Steel City for some hockey and baseball.  One of our bucket list items, is to visit all of the MLB Stadiums together, so hitting up the Pirates/Reds game on the off day only made sense. Another bucket list item was attending the Frozen Four. We had the same goal for the Final Four, which we’ve completed, but this time we came as fans of the sport – not of an individual team in the tournament.

After some delays, we left the cold and rain of Chicago for the warmth of Pittsburgh. Before the opening games, we checked out Frozen Four Fest – which is where the comparisons to our Final Four experience end. Because college hockey isn’t as corporate or commercialized as basketball, this event was much more about the love of the game than who could afford to be there. College hockey fans walked around proud, many wearing hats and jerseys for schools who didn’t make it there (and many that didn’t even make the tournament). People tend to decide about going to the Final Four based on the teams that make it, people choose to go to the Frozen Four because they love college hockey and will be there regardless if their school of choice is or not. I should have taken pictures of all the different teams that we saw represented over the weekend, but there were at least 25.

In true “Chamber” fashion, we also ran into people I knew there. It has started to become a joke when we travel for sporting events that I always see people I know, and this was no exception. As we visited with this group, it was amazing to stand there and be introduced to other fans that they’ve gotten to know over the years. For them, going to the Frozen Four is an annual trip they take with friends, where they also make new friends each year. They didn’t care that their schools didn’t make it, but still proudly donned those colors and had a great time. Once we were at the games, I heard many similar stories from people around us that have decided to go each year and take in a new city and some hockey. After making the trip, I would have to agree that it could be a fun tradition for lovers of college hockey.

Because it was so warm outside, the arena was really cold since they were pumping air in to maintain the integrity of the ice. Consol Energy is a very nice venue, which we spent some time checking out. They had a wall with jerseys for all the schools that make up DI college hockey (59 total), which was a great representation of how intimate the sport can be and makes sense why fans are so connected. Before leaving Michigan, there was a time in my life where I would attend at least a dozen college hockey games every year. That experience helps me to understand the connection between the sport and its fans, even though it’s not as fast or exciting at the NHL. So, there we were at the Frozen Four, ready to watch 2 matchups between a 1 seed and a 4 seed. I’m not sure my twitter followers enjoyed my score updates, but it was a fun way to take it in and share what you don’t know when watching at home. Since we didn’t have any horses left in the race, we had the unique experience of taking it all in and noticing things that we never would if we were focused on our own teams.

One interesting fast is that none of the 4 teams that made it this far have won the Championship, so we were going to get to see a team crowned for the first time. The first game featured the Yale Bulldogs and UMass Lowell River Hawks. UMass Lowell was a heavy favorite, but I was pulling for the underdogs in both games. I also have a soft spot for Ivy League schools in the post season (I was loving on Harvard a few weeks ago too) because they don’t have athletic scholarships, so those players are the true definition of a student-athlete. I also found it interesting that 5 of the 6 Yale starters were majoring in Political Science, not a typical major for jocks. I spent some time looking up where players were from since many have ties to places I’m familiar with, and also taking in the atmosphere. Only in the postseason do you have both student sections at the games, which is an exciting and entertaining element to add. Yale scored twice in the 1^st period and really threw Lowell off their game. They tried to get fancy instead of focusing on shots on goal. Still, Lowell answered with 2 goals in the 2^nd period and it went scoreless in the 3^rd period. Sudden death overtime may be my favorite part of hockey because you can feel the pressure in the building. Well, just under 7 minutes into OT, Miller for Yale got a breakaway and scored (I’ve been tweeting that I would like to see him wearing a winged wheel). Yale was elated and UMass Lowell was shocked and defeated. After an hour break, it was time for the St Cloud State Huskies to take on the Quinnipiac Bobcats (the #1 overall seed). This game went much as expected, with Quinnipiac scoring less than 2 minutes into the game and 3 times total in the first period. For all essential purposed, the game was over at this point. Quinnipiac won 4-1. This means the Finals will be between 2 schools from the same conference that are only about 10 miles away from each other.

Now that I felt more familiar with the teams, yours truly was in full analyst mode by the time we got to the title game on Saturday. Quinnipiac finished 1^st in the ECAC, Yale was 3^rd. Quinnipiac had beaten Yale twice during the regular season (6-2 and 4-1) and again to knock them out of the conference tournament (3-0). Quinnipiac was the top overall seed, Yale was 15^th out of 16. It’s your perfect David vs. Goliath with the National Championship on the line. Our seats were between the 2 student sections, which provided some extra entertainment – these two schools don’t like each other and weren’t afraid to chant about it. Although the 1^st period was scoreless, it was probably the best period of the weekend in terms of solid play, good shots and big saves. As I was talking with some local coaches during the intermission, two things stood out – it would take some luck to score on Quinnipiac’s goalie (who looked like bigfoot on skates) and both teams would have just try to get the puck on the net and see what happened. The 2^nd period saw both teams fail to capitalize on 5 on 3’s before Yale scored with 4 seconds to go – by just shooting it and catching the goalie off guard. The kid that scored grew up near my hometown too. Yale had all the momentum then going into the break while Quinnipiac looked shocked, but they were only down 1 goal. Based on my analysis so far, some of the fans around me thought I should go down and help coach – but wasn’t sure security would let that happen. Only 4 minutes into the 3^rd period, Yale scored for the second time. At this point, the Bobcats were scrambling. Then, Miller scored for the Bulldogs on a breakaway to put them up 3-0 with just over 10 minutes to go in the game (and also sealed him being named the most outstanding player for the Frozen Four). Quinnipiac was now in desperation mode, which lead to pulling their goalie with over 7 minutes to go – and then Yale got an empty netter to seal the victory. The great season for Quinnipiac suddenly seemed like a distant memory as they got shut out by Yale and couldn’t get the win they wanted most. The Bulldogs scored more points in this game against the Bobcats than they had in their 3 previous meetings combined. Yale’s goalie had a birthday he’ll never forget – a shutout and National Championship.

As the final buzzer sound, I felt compassion for both fan bases. I’ve been there before and saw my team lose in the title game – it’s a crushing feeling. I’ve also seen my team win it all and know the elation you feel at that moment, soaking it all up. As much as professional sports reign supreme, there are few moments in sports as pure as a college team winning the National Championship. We stood there cheering for Yale as confetti fell into the arena and enjoyed watching them celebrate as a team. It’s such an accomplishment, especially when you’re an underdog, and they were loving every minute of it.

So…we went, we saw, and we ended up cheering for a team we didn’t have any connection to previously. Still, we had a lot of fun and I might have a soft spot for Yale in future years. The Frozen Four was a very enjoyable experience that I would enjoy doing again in the future and recommend to hockey fans everywhere. Being there to see college athletes celebrate those championship moments is truly  unforgettable!