The first fan showed up at 10:30 in the morning and the final fan walked out of the TD Bank Sports Center 12 hours later after the Quinnipiac Bobcats took down their biggest rival in the Yale Bulldogs, 4-1 as they captured the 14th annual Heroes Hat Trophy.
The Bobcats saw another star performance from their starting goaltender Michael Garteig and a stunning performance from their freshmen skaters, but the stars of the night were the 3696 people that donned their game day gold and gave the visitors from six miles west a full 60 minutes of chanting and cheering.
“It’s always awesome when you get a crowd like that,” sophomore forward Tanner Macmaster said. “It gives you that extra boost to go out there and try to get the win for the fans.”
The fans started early and stayed late. The first? Senior Tim Pollitt who arrived at 10:30 to make sure his seat wouldn’t change for his 23rd game this season.
“I’ve sat in the same seat at every home hockey game for almost three years,” Pollitt said. “I have done everything on my Yale bucket list, get a ticket every year, be the first one in, sit with my friends in the front row, go to Yale to see Quinnipiac play. However I wanted to sit in my seat come Yale game and I made sure I did.”
The fans, however, battled the elements as temperatures did not top 50 the entire day, but that didn’t stop the fans from camping out. Burgers, music, and tailgating games, by four o’clock there was a line of 500 students and by 5:00 as the Quinnipiac women’s hockey team won game two of its series in double overtime, the line was well over 2,000 students.
“It’s pretty cool showing up to the arena at four or five o’clock and see a line out the door,” Garteig said. “I was trying to pull up my Snapchat to get a good picture of it. It was pretty cool.”
When the dust settled and the fans finally made their way in, it was a different mode than anyone has seen out of the Bobcat faithful this season. Thunder sticks were… well thunderous, while the fans refused to sit from the time they got in.
“Everyone else gets very hyped for this game, and I get excited for every game.” President of the Quinnipiac Spirit Group Adam Berg said. “But it’s hard not to feel the energy from the crowd and get even more excited once they start going.”
Everything was louder; from the fans joining in on the National Anthem to the boos and cheers, everything was brought to a decibel I have never heard before while being at Quinnipiac. An early Bulldogs’ goal was reviewed and later waived off starting an absolute eruption in the crowd while Bobcats used it to turn the tables and never looked back.
The most shocking part of the night? There were no boundaries for the fans. Obscenities and curses were in play and the line between appropriate and inappropriate began to blur as the Bobcats continued to light up the Bulldogs with large neutral-zone hits from the Clifton brothers and goals from their freshmen.
The crowd had it’s final roar late in the third period when freshman Luke Shiplo put the nail in the Bulldogs’ coffin with a wrist shot from the point that found twine to give the Bobcats faithful their third reason to dance on the night.
The Bobcats never looked back as they met at center ice just six minutes later to salute their faithful fans after a night where everyone gave everything, including the fans.
“It was definitely the best atmosphere I have ever been apart have,” Shiplo said.
The Bobcats have a weekend off before returning to action on March 11 and 12 at High Point Solutions Arena in the ECAC Quarterfinals, hoping their fans will be there again to cheer them on.
