Trip Recap - Western New York to Western Michigan

This past weekend I traveled to the bustling Midwestern city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the NCAA Hockey Regional. Initially, I wasn't planning to go, but I figured that this might be the only time during my four years on the hill that Cornell made the tournament, so why not?

I left Ithaca early Saturday morning (3:30 am) and met two alumni -- classes of 1970 and 1986 -- near the Thruway for the 9-hour drive to Grand Rapids. The drive there is basically a straight line west, cutting through Ontario and most of Michigan on our way to the western part of the state.

We arrived in Grand Rapids a couple of hours before the 4 pm game. Grand Rapids is actually a very nice city; the downtown area features the arena, a couple of recently built hotels, and some bars and restaurants. The area's claim to fame is that Gerald Ford spent part of his childhood in Grand Rapids. As such, the airport, freeway, and pretty much everything else is named after Ford. I would have liked to go to the Gerald Ford Museum, but someone (mistakenly) told us that it was closed on weekends.

In the regional semifinal on Saturday, #9 Cornell came back from a 2-0 deficit against #5 Northeastern to win 3-2 on another clutch Evan Barlow goal with 17 seconds remaining in the game. In the second semifinal, unranked Bemidji State pulled off the improbable upset of #2 Notre Dame, setting up the unexpected Cornell vs. Bemidji matchup to see which team would make the Frozen Four.

After the all-nighter on Friday, I got some much-needed sleep on Saturday night. I had a chance to see more of the downtown on Sunday, as I walked to the hospital to get a tetanus shot for a cut I had gotten in Ithaca on Friday night. Everyone there was very nice, but it was a good thing I wasn't in need of serious medical attention. It took us a few minutes to figure out that "nail injury" didn't mean I had a problem with one of my fingers, and they almost let me walk out of the hospital without registering (or receiving a bracelet).

Going into the regional final against Bemidji, everything seemed too good to be true. Instead of having to face the second-best team in the country (Notre Dame), we were playing a team from a minor conference that had never reached the Frozen Four. After that, thanks to some other upsets, our road to the national championship game went through another low seed, Miami (Ohio).

But we were foolish to look past Bemidji. This was a very fast team, and Cornell just didn't show up to play. Stupid defensive miscues and a lack of urgency on offense cost us a trip to the Frozen Four and broke the hearts of those of us who made the trip to Grand Rapids.

On that note, since I was the only Cornell student in attendance (aside from the pep band and hockey team), I had plenty of time to meet alumni. These are some of the most dedicated college sports fans you'll ever meet, as they take time off from work and families to follow the Big Red during the postseason -- to Albany, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis, Green Bay, or anywhere else the team is sent. For me, it was a little like seeing what I might be in 10 years. It's reassuring to know that it's possible to balance a stable life with Cornell hockey...

As I wrote in another post, this was my 34th and final Cornell hockey game of the season. The only two games I missed were the games in North Dakota over Thanksgiving. Next year, the schedule is a little more fan-friendly. North Dakota comes to Ithaca, and we're playing BU in Madison Square Garden over Thanksgiving. The Florida tournament is the only major trip, aside from that everything is within driving distance from Ithaca.

Moving on to spring sports, the lacrosse team is having another great season. Ranked #3 in the nation, they are 6-1 on the season and host Harvard this Saturday at Schoellkopf. No fish this time, but I'll be there to hopefully help myself move past the end of hockey season.