Gwyneth K. Shaw Photo
Tim Byrne and Dave Turner at Saturday’s victory.
Notice the absence of complaints these days about hockey leaving New Haven? Old-time Nighthawks and Blades fans are too busy filling Ingalls Rink to cheer on the new home team, Yale’s red-hot Bulldogs.
Fans like Dave Turner and Tim Byrne.
They remember when watching a hockey game in New Haven meant seeing a cloud of cigarette smoke hovering above the ice. When the players scored as many points with fans for fighting as for scoring goals. And when the barrier protecting the crowd from flying pucks — and players — was metal fencing, not Plexiglas.
The Nighthawks and the Coliseum are long gone, but Turner and Byrne were in the (smoke-free) stands Saturday night to root for the home team on the ice — now the Bulldogs, who this magical year have emerged as the nation’s number-one college squad.
Turner, 54, and Byrne, 56, joined a sell-out crowd at the Yale Whale Saturday night to watch the Bulldogs (17 – 2, 11 – 1 ECAC) defeat St. Lawrence University, 4 – 1, thanks to two goals from freshman Kenny Agostino. (Here’s a full accounting of the game.)
Turner (whose father worked at the Yale Bowl for 40 years) and Byrne recall the days of the Nighthawks and, before them, the Blades. Those minor-league teams graced two now-defunct rinks, the Coliseum and the New Haven Arena, making New Haven a hockey town through the end of the 20th Century. But sometime around a quarter-century ago, the buddies starting attending Yale men’s hockey games, too.
Now the Bulldogs are the only game in town. And what a game it’s been this season.
The Yale games are a far cry from the fight-filled smashmouth games from the old days, which Turner, Byrne and others described as straight out of the classic hockey movie “Slap Shot.”
Aside from nostalgia, though, Byrne and Turner are happy rooting for the Bulldogs.
“You’re right on top of the game,” Byrne said. “Believe it or not, I like it better, because there’s a lot of hitting, but no fighting. I never liked that.”
Fans with standing-room tickets crowd the rail at Ingalls Rink.
Yale’s team is a big draw for students and alumni, but the sellout crowds this year are packed with lots of other local fans who have embraced the team as their own.
Some are just starved for the chance to watch live hockey: The closest surviving minor-league team is the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Connecticut’s National Hockey League team franchise, the Hartford Whalers, decamped for North Carolina in 1997.
Others bundle up the kids and head for the Yale Whale because of family tradition, a hockey-playing family or just because it’s a relatively cheap, fun form of entertainment. It’s a big social event, too, both for students and for long-time ticket holders who use the games as a chance to catch up.
The atmosphere is definitely a part of the appeal. The small rink offers great access to the game. The crowd is loud and enthusiastic. The student pep band aims for the goofy, playing everything from The Killers to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”
Reserved seats cost $12 for adults and $10 for kids, while standing-room tickets are $9 and $5, respectively. But these days, they’re tough to come by. Games are routinely sold out, and tickets for the hottest games sell at a premium online.
Want a ticket to the Yale-Harvard game, scheduled for Feb. 4? If you use StubHub.com, a popular online resale site, you’ll pay $55 to stand.
Here are some faces from the crowd at Ingalls Saturday night, and their hockey fan stories.
Michael Nardella
Lives in: Branford
Fan since: High school (class of 1983)
Why he’s a fan: “This is just great hockey.”
Nardella, 46, remembers the Nighthawks, too, and went to games as a kid. He started on Yale games in high school, and once he moved back to Branford and had his own children, he came back to the rink. On Saturday, he was there with his 10-year-old daughter, Sally, who peered eagerly through the crowd to catch the action.
“The kids gave us a reason to start coming back,” he said.
Lakshman Subrahmanyan and Graham Aiyar
Live in: New Haven
Fans since: 2010
Why they’re fans: Subrahmanyan brought 21-month-old Graham to a game last year, and while the noise was a little much, “he loved it.” So Saturday night, he bundled Graham up in his jogging stroller and walked over from their East Rock home.
As his father began the unbundling process, Graham turned his head toward the sound of the game, clapping when the crowd cheered. Subrahmanyan left the stroller near a table manned by a Yale employee and headed for their seats.
The games are such a popular destination among his friends with kids, Subrahmanyan said, that there’s talk of putting together a group outing.
Scott, Connor and Gavin Richards
Live in: Milford
Fans since: “I’ve been coming for 20 years,” Scott said.
Why they’re fans: Scott followed the Nighthawks back in the day.
“Those games were basically a fight, and every once in a while hockey would break out,” he joked.
He’s been coming to Ingalls for two decades. This is the second year he’s brought Connor, 6 and already a hockey player himself, and 2‑year-old Gavin. The youngest Richards usually watches most of the game from his dad’s shoulders.
The kids love it, Scott Richards said, and it’s a great deal.
“For the price, you can’t beat it.”
Tim, Tracy, Remy, Cooper and Nat Gibson
Live in: Rowayton
Fans since: 2011
Why they’re fans: Tracy and Tim — also known as Mom and Dad — are St. Lawrence graduates. They brought the kids and a buddy to cheer for their alma mater. The Gibson boys (the three on the left) also play youth hockey, for the Stamford Sharks, and have been on the Ingalls ice for games.
It was the boys’ first time watching from the stands, but Nat Gibson, 7, was already familiar with his favorite part of the arena: “nice locker rooms,” he said.
I was at the Friday game against Clarkson...you don't mention the pure exuberance of the players, the intensity of play, and lastly, the quality of the hockey.
And, as opposed to those days of the Nighthawks and Blades, none of the fans throw beer or chickens on the ice. It's a good show, and it's fun.