Fellows Watch Men’s Ice Hockey Game from Pepsi Student Suite at Agganis Arena
On Saturday, December 3, BU alumnus and retiring Bank of America Senior Vice President Al Petras teamed up with Assistant Dean of Students Daryl DeLuca, Dean of Students Chief of Staff Dan Solworth, and others to provide this year’s Humphrey Fellows with an extra special treat: fine dining in the elegantly appointed Francis D. Burke Club Room at Agganis Arena followed by the opportunity to watch the men’s ice hockey team take on Providence College from the Pepsi Student Suite—the best seats in the whole arena.
BU has one of the most storied teams in NCAA Division I hockey, playing its first game in 1918, winning five national championships, and making twenty-two appearances in the Frozen Four.
This epic evening began with a meal that none of us will soon forget. It included an antipasto, assorted cured meats and cheeses, mixed olives, marinated artichoke hearts, grilled vegetables, panzanella salad, roasted salmon in cioppino sauce, tricolored tortellini in garlic alfredo sauce with grilled chicken, parmesan cheese, sautéed peas, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh basil, roasted broccolini, and long grain rice. After the game, coffee and tea were served along with assorted cannoli, artisanal Italian cookies, and fruit salad. In the suite the Fellows, were also treated to a wide assortment of appetizers, pizza, savory snacks, and Pepsi beverages.
The game itself was a nail-biter that ended in a tie score of 2-2. Some of our Fellows had never seen an ice hockey game, and the view we enjoyed from the Student Suite was truly one for the ages.
In addition, throughout the game Al Petras continued to introduce us to some of the most distinguished members of the BU ice hockey community.
We were particularly honored to meet former head coach Jack Parker—after whom the rink itself is named. Parker started his career at BU as a player (class of 1968) and eventually served as head coach for 40 years. With an overall coaching record of 897–472–115, he is one of just three college hockey coaches to win over 800 games, and he tops the list of most wins at a single institution.
The honors didn’t end there. After the first period ended, we were all stunned by the visage of us on the jumbo-tron as the arena celebrated BU for being the only university to have hosted Humphrey Fellows since the Program’s inception in 1978 and the fact that this year’s cohort will take the total number of BU Humphrey Program alumni over the 500 mark.
It was an unforgettable night of quick and deep immersion into the culture of ice hockey—the most popular sport at BU.