Of course, this push has sparked considerable debate among the student bodies at the respective schools, not to mention the greater college hockey community. The chant debate has made news in student publications on both campuses this week.

Those in favor of upholding the foul language argue it falls under the category of free speech, or at least speech that is expected of stressed-out students blowing off drunken steam on the weekends.

Oh, please. In Michigan’s case, this is a matter of nine words. In Cornell’s, only one.

And in both cases, administrators and coaches only want fans to put the reputation of their hockey program above any tendency to call No. 22 a bleepety-bleep.

Is that really asking too much?

This is a problem that has caused both schools some embarrassment for years. Glen Williams, who retired in 2002 after 33 years as Yost’s announcer, used to time the reading of penalties so he would drown out the chant.

Michigan coach Red Berenson, who has won the Stanley Cup, two NCAA championships and the NHL Coach of the Year award and has universal respect in the hockey world, made a personal appeal to earlier this season. He stood with his grandson before a packed house on Oct. 17 and asked fans to stop the chant.

Again, not every chant. Just the one.

Nine words.

And some have stopped. Others haven’t.

Then we have the estimable Michigan Daily publishing an uncharacteristically groundless editorial entitled “Yost isn’t toast” last Monday, claiming Berenson’s “attempts to pressure students to end the chants are misplaced and would drain much of the joy from one of the greatest experiences in all of athletics.”

Wait. Berenson’s attempts are “misplaced?” Talk about having this whole thing backwards. “Misplaced” describes the viewpoint of students who (a) have painfully little regard for history and give incredibly and foolishly short shrift to the opinion of a man who is an ambassador of his sport and (b) equate seventh-grade humor with having “one of the greatest experiences in all of athletics.”

The editorial goes on to argue that the chanting is “an important part of the team’s success.”

Now, I’m from Michigan and have been to several games at Yost in person. And in my experience, the most “important part of the team’s success” is that Michigan has a talented, well-coached ice hockey team. I’ve never seen a Michigan player quoted as saying, “Jeez, we got a big lift in the second period there from that penalty box chant.”

Have Michigan players credited the atmosphere at Yost with giving them a lift? All the time. But it’s not the swearing that does it. It’s the enthusiasm. Let’s not give nine words too much credit here.