So the Harvard game is tomorrow night and you’re not exactly sure whether to tote that 18-inch tuna along with you. Last year ushers turned a blind eye and nose to those bringing the catch of the day in with them. After a Harvard player was hit on the noggin last year, the ushers will probably be less forgiving this year. For those who successfully smuggle their sturgeon into Lynah, fish-tossing will be tolerated, as long as it comes before the beginning of the game.
Director of athletic ticketing Gene Nighman said that there would be security before and during the game at entrances, and it will monitoring the crowd during the course of the anticipated matchup.
“We’re going to have police officers at each entrance and they will be checking spectators and their packages,” he said.
For those who are caught with fish, they will be allowed to enter the game sans seafood. Nighman didn’t believe that there would be any consequences for those fans throwing fish on the ice during the player introductions. However, those who insist on planting a fish on the ice surface later will suffer harsher consequences — they will be thrown out. If that ejection is the second one for the student, he or she will have his or her season tickets revoked.
Nighman added that he didn’t think that any of the offenders would end in the JA’s office, with the possible exception of a two-time offender.
If a fish is thrown on the ice during play, it will result in a Cornell penalty, but more seriously, it could cause an injury. In addition, Harvard could ask to penalize Cornell if one of its players is hit again by an errant flounder. Nighman’s foremost concern is that neither team is injured.
“The most important thing is that no one gets hurt by throwing fish on the ice. It could result in a serious injury,” Nighman said.
In addition, the Crimson icers may not line up on the blue line during introductions to avoid a situation like last year’s.
“We’re considering moving the Harvard players,” Nighman said.
As for rumors circulating around the East Hill that Harvard might be searching for a neutral site for future Cornell games, they are false, according to Nighman and Crimson head coach Mark Mazzoleni.
“It’s not a Harvard rumor,” Mazzoleni said, asserting that it came from Ithaca. “It’s an absolutely ridiculous rumor. It wouldn’t show a lot of courage on our part. It’s erroneous. It’s just a way to add fuel to the fire.”
Mazzoleni, who after 10 months has acknowledged that Cornell and Harvard have a rivalry in hockey, doesn’t believe that his team will be intimidated by the Lynah Faithful.
“It’s only noise; if you get intimidated by noise, then you’re in trouble,” he said, adding that most of his team has experienced a game at Lynah in past years.
Instead, Mazzoleni has been concentrating on the type of performance his team needs to exhibit to beat Cornell. For the second year in a row, the Harvard-Cornell game has national implications tied to the performance.
Tomorrow’s game begins at 7 p.m., although it is preferable to come at least a half an hour earlier to allow for the time it will take for security to check baggage.
Archived article by Amanda Angel