Women's hockey tournament commences in Utica with special experience for local students
One of the first things you noticed walking into the Adirondack Bank Center on Wednesday morning was the buttery smell of popcorn in the air.
Free red-and-white striped cartons of sunshine-yellow popcorn were distributed to local students who attended the first game of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Women’s World Championship, in which Denmark took on Sweden at 11 a.m. Wednesday,
Hundreds of students from schools such as Utica City School District and Westmoreland Upper Elementary School attended the game for free as part of efforts to engage and educate school-age populations, as well as provide them with an opportunity to enjoy themselves.
“They’re having so much fun,” said Sarah Haden, a teacher at Roscoe Conkling Elementary. “Most of the students in our class have not been to a hockey game at all, so it’s really new and exciting.”
Gray skies and big smiles
While the howling wind whipped outside and frigid sleet cascaded from the gray skies, the students watching the game from the relative warmth of the arena shrieked with delight. Many of them waved around white tube-shaped balloons bedecked with red Team USA logos, clapping the balloons together and cheering.
In a February statement, Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. expressed excitement that students will get to attend select games.
“For many students, this is a once-in-a-life time opportunity to attend a global event,” Picente said in the statement. “Oneida County is proud to be the tournament host and a lead partner, and we’re thrilled to be able to give thousands of local students the ability to attend a game, feel the energy and see this amazing world-class event in person.”
During intermissions between periods, hungry attendees poured out of the rink and lined up to order timeless sporting concessions like hot dogs and fries. The elementary school students were bursting with energy, galloping throughout the halls.
Sports mascots like the Utica Comets’ Naudie and Morrisville’s Mo the Mustang roamed the arena, doling out high-fives and fist-bumps to ecstatic students.
Other local students will have the opportunity to attend upcoming games during the tournament, including China’s faceoff with Japan on Thursday and Germany’s contest against Sweden on Monday, April 9.
Come for the fries, stay for the experience
Utica teacher Patty Terry procured a basket of golden-brown fries during the intermission between the second and third period.
“Let me tell you about the French fries,” Terry said. “Every time I come here, for a soccer game, for a hockey game, I get the French fries.”
Terry echoed Haden’s sentiments about the specialness of the field trips to the tournament games for local school kids.
“The kids love it,” she said. “They don’t get to experience this. Some of them have never been here before even though they live in Utica. It’s just a great experience for them.”
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Women's hockey: Utica, Westmoreland students first fans at IIHF event
