The Harvard social scene is a little odd. Nobody shows up for parties until 11 p.m. and then they complain when the bashes shut down at 1 a.m. Lucien Smith and his Republican Club single-handedly ruin every major event on campus by publishing a party email.

Hockey midnight madness starts at 10 p.m.

Okay, so maybe that is a bit of a non sequitur, but it was strange Saturday night strolling into Bright Hockey Center for an event that should've begun on Sunday morning. Nonetheless, hockey season is here at fair Harvard and it's about time.

The Madness (I will no longer call it Midnight) provided an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the men's and women's hockey teams before they get down to some more serious business.

It's the only time of the year when the Crimson can take the ice and simply have fun, banter with the fans and jaw at each other. Some, like freshmen Dennis Packard and Tim Pettit impressed with their speed. Sophomore winger Brett Nowak, on the other hand, wiped out on the agility skate. And senior winger Jen Botterill reminded the whole school in the accuracy contest that she is good. Damn good.

It wasn't a perfect event by any means. In retrospect, it would've been better to keep the scrimmage. The players tried to mix it up a bit in the races, but senior Tammy Shewchuk tripping classmate Kiirsten Suurkask in the race around the ice doesn't compare to some actual action.

Moreover, the fan contests were utterly ridiculous. Shooting the puck from center ice into an 8-inch hole in the goal is near impossible. Doing it three times in a row for $50,000 is beyond absurd. Wayne Gretzky couldn't do that. And how can you only give $100 for doing it once?

At least, the organizers had the intelligence to select Crimson Sports' own Dave De Remer to take a crack at the hole in the goal.