7 March 2016 / leggypeggy

Alaska and winter equals ice hockey

Coldfoot, college sport, Fairbanks, ice hockey, Northern Lights, sport

Fairbanks is in the blue and gold

We’re heading north tomorrow. And I mean way north into the Arctic Circle and about 250 miles north of Fairbanks. Our destination is Coldfoot and the prospect of seeing the Northern Lights.

Our 48 hours in Fairbanks have been a whirlwind and I’ve barely had a chance to go through my photos, let alone piece together a post.

Plus, we don’t expect to have internet for the five nights we are in Coldfoot.

Fairbanks leads

So to tide everyone over, I thought I’d show a few glimpses of the ice hockey game we saw last night. It was our first time to see a live game and we saw the University of Alaska–Fairbanks face off against the University of Alaska–Anchorage.

I bet you can imagine the rivalry between these two teams.

They were playing for the Governor’s Cup (I think) and for a slot in other play-offs. If my information is right, both teams are near the bottom of the ladder (sorry if I have that wrong), and they were playing four matches.

Two games were played last week in Anchorage with each team winning one. They played again in Fairbanks last night and the night before. Fairbanks won Friday night 3–2 with a nail-biter finish. We missed that because we were still on our 36-hour, long-haul flights to Alaska.

The Governor’s Cup was displayed at the souvenir stand. It’s in the upper middle between the two white doors

But we were in time for last night’s nail-biter, and four of us rolled up to buy tickets at the door—$17 each.

We opted for seats in the wet versus dry area. Wet doesn’t mean you’re going to get covered in snow and ice. It simply means you’re allowed to purchase a cup of beer, cider or wine.

There’s a boom-gate at the entrance to the wet area. As I approached, the guard promptly asked to see my ID to prove I was over 21—I bet he thrills a lot of women with that line—and then decorated my hand with an ‘over 21’ stamp. He wasn’t surprised to see my Australian Capital Territory driver’s license as evidence. ‘Oh, the ACT’, he said, ‘I used to live there.’

Banners for teams in the league and for top players of the past

Our seats were in the last rows, hence the faraway pics, but the sports centre is small enough that any seat is pretty good.

Fairbanks shot to an early lead, but by the last third of the game (each segment is 20 minutes), the scores were level at two all. Then Fairbanks scored again and Anchorage put on all the pressure they could muster in the hopes of gaining a tie.

But Fairbanks held their ground and were triumphant. But not before the mandatory scuffle broke out on the ice. As Milly said at the end of the evening, ‘We went to a fight, but a hockey game broke out.’

P.S. We had a tasty beer—a Canadian Molson—and a great introduction to ice hockey. But I have to say, it’s not easy keeping your eye on the puck.

P.P.S. Back in six days. Please no scuffling in my absence.