Cheers to Hockey
I am 45 years old and was raised in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles wasn't much of a hockey town until the Great One, #99 Wayne Gretzky arrived. Even then, most people only watched hockey when the Los Angeles Kings made the playoffs. I went to my first Hockey game just 10 miles South of Hillsborough down 206, a little gem known as the Hobey Baker Arena where the Princeton University Hockey team plays. It was built in 1921 and named after Hobey Baker, known as the Heisman of college hockey. The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player.
Why Princeton Hockey you ask? Last summer my company started a internship program with participating students from local high schools and colleges. One of our interns, Jordan Fogarty, is a student athlete playing hockey for the Princeton Tigers. Jordan also happens to be the son of Ron Fogarty, the head coach for the Princeton Hockey team. Fogarty came to Princeton as the leader of all active NCAA coaches in win percentage, with a 167-23-10 record. It took him just four years to turn the Tigers from worst to first, as he inherited a team that finished 12th in the league and built them into the 2018 ECAC Champions and a national powerhouse. The 2019 team features three potential draft picks for upcoming hockey draft this June.
Thanks to Jordan, I had an awesome first experience at the hockey game. My son and I were given a private tour of the locker room and met Coach Fogarty and the coaching staff before the game. Our seats were in the first row and near the middle of the rink. It's pretty cool to watch the pucks fly into the goal from where you are seated. It is such a cozy rink (2,054 seats), that no matter where you sit, you will have a great view. I also happened to have a game puck land in front of me during the game. It was a great souvenir to take home.
I am a regular at the Princeton Hockey games now. The team is expecting to go far into the playoffs, possibly National Champs. Watching hockey live is definitely way better than watching it on TV, as most will tell you. My advice is to dress warm, as Hobey Baker Rink is known as the coldest place on earth! Ticket prices range from only $8 to $12, so catch the next game when you have time! Go Tigers!