Things You'll Need:
- Satellite TV
- Internet
-
Step 1
Attend a Game
Last I counted, there were 59 Divsion I men's ice hockey teams stretching from Alaska all the way down to Alabama, and back up to Maine. Most, if not all teams are located north of the Mason-Dixon line, with Alabama-Huntsville as the shining exception. Please see the last link under "Resources" for a cool map! Left click to magnify.
So if you live in the South or on the West Coast, it's tough to find a game (occasionally special tournaments are played in those areas), but if you live in the Upper Midwest or Northeast, it's fairly easy.
Attending a college ice hockey game can be wild, as the arenas are rarely large, and those that are large (such as that of the University of Minnesota) are large for a reason - huge fan bases. Fans tend to be right on top of the action, banging on the glass, cheering their team, and hollering at the opponents and officials. -
Step 2
Get a Dish
Satellite TV is a near must for following college hockey, as the main national broadcasters are CSTV, ESPNU, NESN, FSN-North, FSN-Rocky Mountain, and FSN-Detroit. You can receive all of these stations via DirecTV's SportsPack, which is relatively inexpensive.
There are also local broadcasts of games that you may be able to pick-up if you have cable instead of a dish. -
Step 3
Listen to the Radio
Most games played by most teams are broadcast on local radio. Some local stations even broadcast for free over the internet. For instance, last year I found the website to an Omaha radio station and listened to a Nebraska-Omaha versus Alaska-Fairbanks game. Find out what radio stations carry games (I have listed numerous resources at the very bottom of this article) and then find their websites.
Click on the College Hockey News link under "Resources", then click on "Standings", followed by clicking on the individual school whose radio information you want. Located at the bottom of each team page is broadcast information. -
Step 4
Watch/Listen to Webcasts
Most radio broadcasts are not, however, free on the internet, but fortunately many schools now have tie-ins with companies that provide live webcasts of games via paid subscription and/or pay-per-view. Many of these games are audio only, but no small amount are also webcast in video as well. Again, please see Resources, especially by following the end of step 3 (some schools list internet broadcasts in addition to radio) and also try under Resources "Live Scores, Stats, and MOST Webcasts". -
Step 5
Bookmark Websites For Articles, Standings, Live Scores and Live Stats
There are several websites available through which to follow college hockey generally, and some that also provide means through which to follow scores and statistics live (or nearly live). These too may be found in Resources.
Comments
amylaine said
on 6/18/2008 Very informative. My friends follow hockey but I just like to watch. I never really got the game.