"I'll tell you why they're here," Elliott said, pointing to his companions. "Because they have girlfriends that play. I'm just along with them."

John and Joe shook their heads emphatically. What Elliott said wasn't true, John said, unless you "use the term girlfriend very loosely."

John said he simply came to support a friend because she went to one of his crew meets.

"There's a definite link between the men's crew team and the women's hockey team," he said.

He pointed to Elliott. "This joker's not just here with us. He's not for number..."

Okay, okay. So over-eager freshman aren't your scene. You could always hang around with the parents:

Unlike John and friends--who left before the third period--Mrs. Joan Upson stayed for the entire game. But she didn't look too pleased about it.

"I'm here because my step-daughter is on the Vermont team," she said. "Her father and I are here together."

Mr. Upson didn't seem to be around, however. Mrs. Upson explained that he was in the men's room--not using the facilities but simply keeping warm.

Too dry for your liking? How about camping out with Penelope Papailius, a Harvard freshman, and friends:

"We always come to these games," she said. "I think we've been to more women's hockey games then they've actually played."

Or Jamie Neilson:

"You can have good hallucinations here," Neilson said.

As for the sport itself?

"It's what all the people in the bars in Boston are talking about."