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You Too Can Be...a Dartmouth Hockey Fan
A Guide for Parents
When your Dartmouth student was home for winter break, you may have heard him or her humming a repetitive tune that sounded vaguely like a Gregorian chant. Or seen them suddenly point back and forth while chanting, "Goal! Sieve! Goal! Sieve!" Don't be alarmed. These are not symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. Your son or daughter was simply exhibiting behaviors of a Dartmouth hockey fan.
The humming is easy to explain. Whenever Dartmouth scores a goal during a home game, the song "Kernkraft 400" by Zombie Nation is played over the Thompson Arena loudspeakers. Fans also chant "Goal! Sieve!" pointing first at the Dartmouth goalie ("Goal!") and then at the opposing team's goalie ("Sieve!"), for letting the puck slip into the net.
The men's and women's hockey teams have given Dartmouth fans plenty to cheer about over the years. The women's team is perennially ranked among the nation's top 10 teams (they've been as high as number 3 this year) and the men's team is usually in the top 20. Both teams have sent players to the Olympics and the pros. Two years ago, the women's team boasted five Olympians: three gold-medal-winning Canadians and two bronze-medal-winning U.S. Olympians (currently Sarah Parsons '10 is the Big Green's lone U.S. Olympian). And four recent men's team graduates are skating in the NHL: David Jones '08 with the Colorado Avalanche, Tanner Glass '07 with the Florida Panthers, Ben Lovejoy '06 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Lee Stempniak '05 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
If you haven't attended a Dartmouth hockey game yet, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the rules. One of the most confusing is icing, when the puck crosses two red lines (the last being the opposing team's goal line) without being touched by either team. Play is stopped after icing, and then resumes with a face-off.
For further insights into the men's team, check out captain Rob Pritchard '09's blog about the current season. And if you happen to be in Hanover this winter, join the fun--attend a Dartmouth men's or women's hockey game. You'll find yourself humming "Kernkraft 400" in no time. Go Big Green!