"What goes on down on the ice?"

Many Crimson sportswriters have asked me that question. For the better part of two years, I've covered men's hockey games out of the unshielded penalty boxes at Bright Hockey Center.

And what an adventure it's been.

In my very first game, I actually didn't realize I could shoot pictures from the box until after the first period had passed. A fellow editor spotted me on the uncomfortable camera box and directed me to the sin bins. There, I men Kristina Kalan '95, the Indy photographer. She had some advice for me.

"Watch out for pucks."

I nodded. Sure. No problem--just duck away.

Two minutes later, I took a puck directly in the arm. It stung for a while.

Since then, I've been hit by ricocheting pucks, nailed in the head by a stick, bumped into by players, checked from behind and even sprayed with ice from a skidding player.

But all that's nothing compared to the vicious hits I've seen players take going into the plexiglass of the scorer's booth or headfirst into the wall. And besides, I disovered that being dangerously close to the action was, well, downright exciting. You see and hear things that most student fans miss.

For example, I didn't realize that the fans in Section 11 don't hear what's shouted on the ice by Harvard coach Ronn Tomassoni. A few examples:

."DEEP! DEEP!" which apparently means to dump the puck in the zone;

."SKATE!" which means to skate quickly down the ice;

."GO GET!" which means, obviously, to get the puck;

."HIGGIE'S UP!" which mean's that Henry Higdon's forward line was next to play; and

."HARRY! HARRY! WHAT WAS THAT, HARRY?!?" when ECAC referee Harry Ammiam makes a bad call.