Photo by: Andrew Fielding
Nearly 400 DU students camped out near the Ritchie Center over the weekend, claiming their spots in line for season tickets for the 2011-2012 Pioneer hockey season.
Hockey fanatics began setting up tents as early as 10 a.m. on Thursday, and the crowd continued to grow through Friday night. Tickets officially went on sale at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, but the festivities began long before that.
On Friday night, the DU Grilling Society (DUGS) served free food to students while a DJ blasted music until the early hours of the morning. Undergraduate Student Government ran a golf cart back and forth through the crowd, distributing shirts, energy drinks and other beverages to students wearing DU gear.
“It was super fun,” said freshman Kristen Dautenhahn. “We stayed up until 4 a.m. and everyone was going crazy with the music from the DJ. Just for the experience it was worth it.”
The event continued on for most of the night with many students pulling all-nighters in the excitement. Between frisbee-throwing, dancing and cheering outbreaks of the DU fight song, there was plenty of action throughout the night.
“It was awesome,” said freshman Billy Wallace. “The environment was spectacular and the sleep was nonexistent.”
The loud activities were shut down after the Denver Police Department received noise complaints from University Park Towers, located on Buchtel Boulevard near the Ritchie Center. The music and noise were quieted by 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
A few hours later, students crawled out of their tents and began forming the line to purchase season tickets. Nick Curry and Stephen Johnson headed up the line, and Head Coach George Gwozdecky bought their tickets to honor their dedication to the team.
Fifteen minutes prior to the ticket booth opening, the Pioneers hockey team greeted their fans with doughnuts and t-shirts. A few minutes later, freshmen hockey players Daniel Doremus and Larkin Jacobson entertained the crowd as they sang the DU fight song, drawing much applause and laughter.
“Compared to years past, I think we have a lot of dedicated fans here,” said fifth-year senior and co-captain Dustin Jackson. “I’m looking forward to seeing everyone come out.”
As the line inched forward, team members continued to wander through the crowd, greeting fans and thanking them for participating in the campout.
“We’d like to tell all the fans we really appreciate their support,” said Jackson. “It really can have a big effect on the game when everyone comes out.”
The Pioneers will open their season on Saturday with an exhibition game against McGill University at 7:07 p.m. in Magness Arena. After the success of the campout, the team is looking forward to the start of the season, according to both Jackson and junior captain Drew Shore.
“Anytime you play hockey at DU, the goal every year is to win the national championship,” said Shore. “I’m pretty excited about the turnout [of the campout], and if we have this much support at games it’s going to be a really good year.”
For more photos from the hockey campout, visit duclarion.com.
