Afternoon Update from D.C.
It’s turning into Hockey Central, with BU in the thick of it
Click on a photo above to hear from Frozen Four fans in DC today.
The nation’s capital is beginning to resemble a zoo, teeming with Terriers, Catamounts, Beavers, and Redhawks — hockey fans all, ready for the Frozen Four.
But the menagerie will have a bit more company tonight at the Verizon Center.
Gophers, Huskies, Terrapins, and Badgers logos are also making the rounds in Washington, D.C., joining the jerseys of the final four participants.
“Hockey is a great game, and regardless of who’s playing, it’s a fun sport to watch,” says Tom Brever, who traveled from Minnesota’s Twin Cities with his friend Mark Pridgeon. “People from everywhere get together — you’re seeing guys with Fighting Sioux stuff, University of Minnesota people, UMD, I mean all over.”
The mix of hockey aficionados isn’t distracting John Sokolski, BU Athletics assistant equipment manager, who arrived wearing scarlet and white. “I’m not worried — the team is confident, and I think they’ll take care of business,” he says. “ The last time they won a championship was 1995, but everything good takes time, you know?”
Brandon Weir, sporting a Michigan State Spartans shirt and joining his Michigan Tech–supporting family, will be cheering on BU. “I am utterly amazed,” says Weir, attending his first Frozen Four tournament. “We’ve been here maybe an hour, and there are hockey fans everywhere. College hockey fans are so unique, and there aren’t as many as in other sports, so it’s nice to have people around to identify with.”
Betty Reader, from Burlington, Vt., is eager to cheer on her Catamounts tonight, but she and her friend Barbara Knight were impressed with the varied fan base.
“Even in our hotel, fans were hanging up their jerseys in the windows last night,” she says. “They were all different — some Boston, some Bemidji, Vermont, and Miami. But everywhere you look, people are representing their teams, no matter where they’re from.”
And if you happen to be from Boston, you’re in good company.
For more Frozen Four coverage, click here.
Edward A. Brown can be reached at ebrown@bu.edu. Kimberly Cornuelle can be reached at kcornuel@bu.edu.
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