NOVEMBER 7, 2025 | FEATURES | By Liza McDougall
On Friday, Oct. 31, the Colorado College men’s hockey team lost to Omaha 3-2. However, the experience of a CC hockey game was more than enough to make me want to go back.
Having a Division I hockey team wasn’t exactly my deciding factor when it came to picking a college. In fact, I didn’t even know about the extent of the CC hockey program until two blocks into my freshman year.
I knew I had to go to a game at some point, so I got tickets for the Halloween match. It was quite an experience, and one I recommend every CC student go to at least one before graduation. I discovered that I love shouting, I love being in the student section and I love hockey.
The energy was high, even an absurdly long time before the game even began. As I sat in the student section, looking out at my peers in costumes, hollering and banging on the glass even when it was only the Zamboni on the ice, I knew I was in for a treat.
The lights dimmed, music started blaring and the spotlight was on. The players all skated out onto the ice. The only crowd I’ve seen with the same level of energy as the Colorado College student section was probably the crowd at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
All of a sudden, the game began. The players moved around the ice so quickly that it was hard to understand what was happening, especially since I had no clue how hockey worked. However, judging from what I could discern on the ice and the energy of the student section, CC did very well in the first half of the game.
Being in the student section when CC scored a goal was an electrifying experience. An extremely loud buzzer went off, and then everyone was up on their feet, hollering and dancing.
There were cheers and chants, though I had no idea what words people were saying most of the time. By the end, I was able to join in on a few “Let’s go Tigers,” but only because the words were up on the screen.
Midway through the game, there was a Halloween costume contest. There weren’t many options to choose from. Five people dressed up as Voldemort took home the grand prize, although I’m unsure if there was actually any reward for winning.
In the second half of the game, the energy in the student section took a drastic turn for the worse. Omaha was up and kept scoring. Students shouted profane things at Omaha’s goalie, but it didn’t change the fact that the puck just wouldn’t go in.
I had a lot of questions about hockey that I wrote down during the game, such as “Who gets to be in the starting lineup?”
“Who are the men in black with the shovels?”
“Are there any out-of-bounds in hockey?”
But the fateful moment in the game came during my final question: “Why don’t we have a goalie!?”
I’m not sure where the goalie was, but the Colorado College team left its goal wide open. Omaha was able to score, bringing the count up to 3-1.
The energy in the student section was at a record low. With only a few minutes left on the clock, when Omaha scored the entire student section collectively groaned, and then huge masses of people got up and left.
Colorado College almost had a comeback, scoring another goal in the final few minutes, but it was not enough. The buzzer buzzed and the game ended, with Omaha winning 3-2.
Even though the CC Tigers lost to an unranked team on their home turf, I still really enjoyed going to the game and I recommend that everyone check out at least one hockey game in their time at CC. I know that I will be going to another.