The Colorado College Tigers will dive into new course material Monday morning, then take the outdoor ice in front of thousands of fans in the afternoon. Standard stuff.
CC is set to face Air Force in the Faceoff at Falcon Stadium outdoor game at 5 p.m. Even though it’s Presidents Day and an emotionally charged one to boot, academia calls.
Colorado College operates on a block schedule, with each block lasting 3 1/2 weeks. Monday marks the beginning of Block 6 of 8.
Tigers forward forward Troy Conzo has to knock out the first day of a comparative politics class before he can help CC attempt a sweep.
“It might be a good thing, get me going to start the day,” he said.
Senior Kristian Blumenschein will check out a drawing class that might not last, since he’s “not much of an artist.” It could be dropped for an economics or business course.
A nagging upper-body injury will likely keep him out of the lineup for the sixth time in seven games, which is “pretty devastating.” However he’ll be one of the Tigers’ most ardent supporters.
The Falcons (8-15-5 overall), who have the day off from classes, are able to use the time to focus on bouncing back.
The Pikes Peak Trophy is off the table, having been clinched by the Tigers in Friday’s 6-2 victory. There’s still pride on the line though, and improvement.
Conzo said in a year of ups and downs for the Tigers (9-16-2), events like the outdoor game and the groundbreaking for CC’s on-campus Robson Arena are bright spots.
It can get even brighter under the stadium lights.
“It’s a sign of team maturity here if we string together some wins, put ourselves in a good spot," Conzo said. "The game definitely means a lot, just as much as it did the other night. Trophy or no trophy.”
Arrival times
Much of the talk the next day surrounding Saturday night’s NHL Stadium Series game revolved around traffic that left some fans stuck for hours even as the game got underway. Getting off Air Force Academy grounds was even more stressful for some, as lines snaked through the parking lots more than two hours after the game ended.
The Faceoff at Falcon Stadium crowd is not expected to be anywhere near as big as the announced 43,574 at the NHL game, though sizable in its own right. Air Force athletic director Nathan Pine told The Gazette last week that he thought tickets sales were “getting close to 7,000.”
An academy spokesperson said there will be no changes to the setup for Monday's game, citing the crowd sizes.
Still, it may be wise to learn from immediate history and watch the clock.
An Air Force statement released Sunday night and attributed to Troy Garnhart, Air Force athletics associate AD of communications, reinforced that the “vast majority” of fans, including many who heeded warnings, made it to the stadium on time Saturday and had an “amazing experience.”
“Multiple efforts were made by the NHL and Air Force Academy to warn attendees about potential traffic delays getting to the sold-out Stadium Series game yesterday,” the statement read. “In addition to web posts leading up to the game, the NHL alerted the more than 43,000 fans who had purchased tickets about the need to allow plenty of time in traveling to Falcon Stadium on game day.”
The statement also referenced Interstate 25 issues.
“Unfortunately, several factors the day of the game came together to cause even greater than expected traffic delays. Unlike many large sports venues, all traffic into the two gates at the Air Force Academy comes from one interstate. Closures, emergency repairs and multiple accidents along that I-25 corridor made the traffic situation worse in the hours leading up to the game and unfortunately impacted some fans traveling to the game.”
Weather forecast
Weather.com calls for partly cloudy skies with high temperatures just below freezing at puck drop. If all goes as scheduled and predicted, snow showers will begin about the third period. One to three inches are expected as of Sunday night. Temperatures will reach the teens later in the evening.
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