The Illini Hockey Experience

I had heard some great things about the U of I hockey games, so yesterday I checked one out, and it sure was satisfying. The team was electric in scoring a 7-2 win over Michigan State, and the crowd was awesome. I'll start off this post with a quick recap of the game (feel free to skip this part), and then go into the things the crowd does, which are ridiculous.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, so here's a nice photo from the Illini Hockey website.

Recap

The Illini were running over the Spartans right from the start, scoring a quick goal on a breakaway within the first 30 seconds of the game. From then on, the Illini displayed their talent all across the board, scoring goals off beautiful wristers from the point, using redirects, and on odd man rushes. The Illinois goalie had a particularly strong night, showing off some major flexibility in getting some great saves - though Michigan State overall didn't get too much offense going on.

In the second period, the Illini killed off a 5-on-3 power play in what was probably the tensest moment for us in the midst of a blowout. The defencemen also shined in their backchecking, stifling multiple 2-on-1 rushes by checking the puck away or setting up easy saves for the goalie. And while the game was not overly physical, there was no shortage of powerful body checks, including numerous occasions of players getting totaled on open ice. One other notable in the period was one of Illinois's few missed opportunities, when a player whiffed on a one-timer right outside the crease on a wide open net.

In the third, the Illini scored again upon the expiration of a penalty - a breakaway started right as the power play was killed and the player leaving the penalty box was wide open for a goal. This kind of play is seen way too often. Later on in the period, a strong forecheck while defending the power play resulted in the Spartans coughing up the puck near their own goal, resulting in an exciting shorthanded Illinois goal.

Overall, an exciting game, bolstered by a crowd like none other.

*****

The Crowd and the Harassing Illini

While the crowd doesn't have the same numbers as an Illini football game (there were 750 fans at last night's game), the atmosphere is just as exciting. But the most notable part of the crowd is a block of about 100 people called the "Harassing Illini," who basically yell insults at the other team and get a lot of other people in the crowd to join in on their chants. The air of negativity pervades through the entire arena, resulting in a completely awesome experience.

We entered the arena just in time for the introduction of the Michigan State Spartans players. After the announcement of each player's name, the crowd yelled, "YOU SUCK!" which is one of the most popular Harassing Illini lines. And when the opposing team's coach was announced, the crowd yelled "YOU SUCK TOO!"

Because the Illini scored endless amounts of goals yesterday, we had many opportunities to join in on the Harassing Illini goal "celebration." After the crowd finishes in their wild celebratory screaming, everybody joins in pointing at the opposing goalie and chanting "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" until the famous "Hey Song" (a.k.a. "Rock and Roll, Part II") comes on.

When this song comes on, where people in normal crowds usually shout "HEY!" the Harassing Illini add their own touch by saying "HEY! YOU SUCK!" In fact, the playlist seems to be designed to include several songs that have the word "hey" at opportune times for the crowd to tack on "you suck!"

Of course, there comes a time when a goal is scored against us. In this case, after a brief moment of solemnity, the crowd starts chanting "YOU STILL SUCK! YOU STILL SUCK!" at the other team. A last random little tradition is that when the announcer says "one minute remaining in the period, the crowd yells "THANK YOU!"

A last thing that the Harassing Illini do is have people stalk opponents' members on Facebook and Myspace to find out anything about them that could be helpful in creating more personalized insults. I didn't really catch any of these insults at yesterday's game, but we'll have to see again next time.

*****

The hockey game experience was awesome and I definitely want to go to more games throughout the season. The ticket costs only $6, and yesterday we got free Dippin' Dots there, so it was well worth the money. Right now, I'm planning on going to next Saturday's game, after the football game against Penn State. Speaking of football, I'll make sure to take pictures at next Saturday's football game and write a little something about the football game experience, as well as a brief comparison between UIUC and MIT sports (yes, sports exist at MIT!).

Illini football hasn't been doing too hot, and Penn State is a strong team. Our first home game was against Illinois State, where we blew them out in an unspectacular game (and I also forgot my camera). Next week should have a much better crowd, but I hope we don't get blown out.