It’s that time of the semester again, when spring intramural sports at RPI start up for the second half of the school year. Barely into the second week of classes, over 300 members of the student population laced up their ice skates—a good portion of them for the very first time. “You see this many people walk in with the same shirt on, and it’s a sports team, a fraternity, or ... a cult,” said RPI graduate Steve Mulick ’07. Roughly six percent of RPI’s populace is comprised of 22 teams of varying abilities, each with between 10 and 15 skaters. As the different leagues get more competitive, the opposition gets more diverse. A-league, which consists of the best skaters outside of the men’s varsity team, has a mere four teams, while C/D-league contains 12. In the mid-range of abilities, B-league contains a modest six teams.
A-league hockey action is quickly heating up, as all the teams are in a tight race for the top spot. In first place as of February 10 are the Exploding Fish, closely followed by the Free Agents and the Pikes. Bringing up the rear are the Eagles. Each team has played only two of their six games so far this season, and all four teams are playing their next games this Thursday.
Due to the limited amount of teams to play against, all four teams will make the intramural playoffs, which are held on March 2. The winner of the two games will then move on to play the next evening, where the A-league and, effectively, the intramural hockey champion will be crowned.
In the B-league, the Delts are leading among all teams thus far, going undefeated in their first three games this semester. Right behind them are the Flying Elvises, who are 1-2-1 on the season. The Purple Badges, SigEp, and Ski Lodge are all tied for third place, and in last place are the Nagasaki Nukems. Competition in this league is a little more brutal than for their A-league counterparts, as only the top four teams will make it past the regular season.
Unlike players in C- and D-leagues, those in B-league are allowed to check, so towards the end of the month things could turn ugly as the battle for the top four spots gets fierce. Expect some good games between these six teams as the season winds down.
As talented as the players in the A- and B- leagues are, the true enjoyment in watching intramural hockey comes from the C/D-league teams. It is here where many RPI hockey fans get a taste of what their favorite players go through on a weekly basis, donning their very owns skates and pads. Some players may still need their former hockey-playing significant others to tie their skates for them, but the skates get on nonetheless. When asked on what makes this particular league so great, Martin R. Snodgrass ’09 replied, “D-league hockey gives people an opportunity to live out dreams of hockey glory despite having little or no hockey experience.”
As of February 13, Natural Noise Black is dominating the C/D-league scene, going 3-0 so far this semester, and racking up 18 goals for, with only one goal against. When asked how the season is so far, Natural Noise Black winger sophomore Kevin Kelly replied “Woo hockey!” with an unmatched enthusiasm. Close behind Natural Noise Black are the Silver Falcons, the Crows, the Danger Penguins, and the Quailmen, who are all also holding undefeated seasons. Bringing up the bottom half of the league are the Stampede, D-Cups, the Pucks, Gametime, the Diamondbacks, Acacia Hockey, and Natural Noise Red.
Intramural hockey action was back in full force as of yesterday, after a brief break due to the long weekend. All regular season games end by the 29, and all play-off games begin on March 2. If you find yourself with some free time, and need a quick hockey fix, intramurals are a sure-fire way to keep you amused for an hour’s worth of free entertainment.
