Crowds flock to Southern California for NCAA hockey championships

NAHEIM, Calif. -- On the surface, it sounds like an April Fool's joke gone bad.

Hey, why not hold college hockey's premier event in Southern California, even though the nearest Division I hockey-playing school is 800 miles away in Colorado. And while we're at it, let's have a school from Alaska play host to the tournament.

Funny, isn't it? But you know the NCAA doesn't joke around. Especially when it comes to its championships. So laugh if you will, but this weekend's Division I hockey championships, now officially referred to as the "Frozen Four," is being held at a Duck Pond.

That's the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, home of the NHL Mighty Ducks. The Ducks flew East for the week so Paul Kariya's little brother, Steve, and the rest of his teammates from Maine could try out the ice. And Boston College, New Hampshire and Michigan State came along for the skate as well.

The tourney is being hosted by Alaska-Anchorage, a Division II school that sponsors only one Division I sport.

Guess which one.

And while Southern California isn't the college hockey hotbed that say, Boston is, it doesn't mean this weekend's Frozen Four is going to be a disaster. Far from it.

Thursday's semifinals, which saw Maine beat Boston College 2-1 in overtime and New Hampshire down Michigan State 5-3, averaged close to 13,000 for the two sessions. Saturday's Maine-UNH championship game should do about 16,000 in a building that seats 18,000-plus. Considering the closest school is some 2,000 miles away and the cost for most of the fans to get here on such short notice from back East is almost prohibitive, those numbers actually look pretty good.

"It's great," said Bruce Erickson, who made the trip from Anchorage with his wife, Becky, to watch some pucks. "We're having a great time."

The Ericksons were among 400 Alaskans who have journeyed to the Lower 48 in support of a tournament their school bid for eight years ago. Alaska-Anchorage didn't have a suitably sized building to host the championships, so it looked to California.

Turned out to be a good move, in that it's a bit cold to be going swimming in Anchorage this time of the year and you're not going to be able to get in 18 holes of golf, either.

Then again, it was snowing at the summit of the San Bernardino National Forest, which I-15 cuts through on its way Los Angeles. Perhaps it was the organizing committee's way of making its visitors from New England feel at home. There was a definite chill in the air outside the Pond Thursday, giving the atmosphere a hockey feel.

For Paul Dunbar, the Frozen Four is an annual rite of pasage. Dunbar, who lives on Eastern Long Island, goes to the event every year with some buddies to watch the college guys and take a peek at the future NHLers.

"It's three days of intensive hockey," he said. "We eat, drink and sleep hockey."

Dunbar, who is a devoted Maine fan, admitted the atmosphere in Anaheim wasn't as good as some of the other sites.

"I think it was a little blase," he said. "I don't think it's something Southern California is accustomed to having. But I think it was worth the try to see what kind of interest there was in the college game."

Meanwhile, Amy Parker, a senior at New Hampshire, was revving up for her team's showdown with Michigan State. She flew in late Wednesday using some frequent flier miles. But she wanted to support the Wildcats and had arrived fresh from a pep rally at the Hyatt Regency across from Disneyland.

"This was totally a spur of the moment deal," said Parker, who is from Santa Clarita, located in the San Fernando Valley. "But it's neat. We're on the freeway yelling and honking our horn. We're having a great time."

Parker said she attends the UNH home games in Durham. But she admitted seeing the Wildcats in Anaheim was different.

"It's weird for me going to a home game 3,000 miles away," she said.

She wasn't fooling, either.

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