The Puck Never Stops Here

Since the second day of winter term every minute of available ice time at Thompson Arena was accounted for. The biggest user was the intramural hockey program. Nearly 1,000 students skated in six skill divisions in 14 leagues for 66 intramural teams. (Even more amazing is the fact that one can't buy a hockey stick in downtown Hanover anymore.) According to Steve Erickson, director of intramural sports, Dartmouth's IM hockey program is among the biggest in the country. The playoffs, consisting of four games a night, ran for two solid weeks. It wasn't that Dartmouth suddenly found itself a hotbed of hockey talent. Just the opposite. The team captains' most common pick-up line was, "Hey, if you know how to skate, you're better off than half the people out there." Not every team could have an outstanding record. They could, however, have clever names. One of our favorites was the Aquinas House team (above), known on the ice as the "AQ Cross Checkers." These guys were really serious. They even wore printed jerseys.