<ns, trash, and a Zamboni tire flew from the audience to the ice, as Ole fans shouted “Carleton sucks” and Carl fans sang “screw ya ya” in mockery of the St. Olaf song lyric “um ya ya.”
When an Ole checked a Carl in front of the St. Olaf net, the Ole bench cleared, causing a brawl among the players and the audience. As the referee separated players, he was struck in the nose with a skate. The police arrived, breaking up the fight, which had quickly spread from the ice to the audience.
The referee called this March 2011 game as an 8-5 win for Carleton.
“The game was a little more violent than most,” said Zach Wood-Doughty ’14, a captain with Alex Siemers ’14 and Ben Truax ’14.
Although club hockey is known for its energetic fans and frequent fights, this Carleton-St. Olaf game crossed the line, causing the Northfield Ice Arena and the Carleton and St. Olaf administrations to ban matches between the schools for two years.
Club Sports Director Aaron Chaput said, “We instigated this ban to send the message that what happened was completely unacceptable.”
Now that the ban is up, Carleton’s hockey team, 4-1, will face St. Olaf tomorrow at the Northfield Ice Arena at 7 p.m.
Because of the 2011 match, Carleton, St. Olaf, and Northfield will provide extra security and infrastructure to prevent another fight.
This year, the St. Olaf and the Carleton club hockey designed a security plan and presented it to Northfield officials for approval.
Each team has 250 tickets that it will sell in advance of the game at $5. Unlike other games, there will not be tickets available at the door. The money from the tickets will go to the Northfield Community Food Shelf. At the game, Chaput and a member of the St. Olaf administration will take the tickets for their respective schools.
In addition, St. Olaf and Carleton captains sent out emails to their fans, reminding them about ticket sales, the game’s no alcohol policy, and the importance of respect for everyone at the game.
Before the match, each team will read aloud a portion of a sportsmanship agreement.
During the game, each school will have a representative for starts and lineups. Typically, a hockey game only has one person in this role. “To make it more fair between the schools, we thought that each one should have a representative,” Chaput said.
Chaput and a St. Olaf faculty will check rosters to ensure that all the players are accounted for and in the right spots.
In addition, there will be reserve police officers, who work as auxiliary volunteers for Northfield, attending the game to ensure that no one becomes too unruly. Because these officers are volunteers, they are free. Northfield is also requiring some additional non-reserve officers. In the event that these officers cost money, the Carleton and St. Olaf teams will split the charge, according to Chaput.
Despite the logistics and security required for the game, Siemers said, “We want to continue to have this game with St. Olaf because the rivalry is important to both schools. It is a game that is more enjoyable to watch than other games because have a fun and competitive history with St. Olaf.”
Chaput made it clear that if a major fight breaks out at the game, Carleton will not be allowed to play St. Olaf again.
“I think we all hope that what happened three years ago didn’t happen,” he said. “I think we can have a respectful, fun game with our cross-town rivals.
