Despite having been in the top 10 nationwide for U Sports hockey earlier this season, the Ravens men’s hockey gets little love from its own campus. The Colonel By Classic, the annual rivalry game between Carleton and University of Ottawa (U of O), was held in the TD Place arena, a rink with 10,000 seats. But, only 2,268 people attended the game.
The Colonel By Classic should be planned in such a way that it generates the same amount of excitement as the Panda Game and Capital Hoops. It was a disservice to the team and to students to schedule the game around midterm season, when students are too busy with their studies to even consider attending the game.
Rather, the Colonel By Classic should have been scheduled during the second semester in January, when students return refreshed for the new semester and with a relatively lighter workload. This would have also given more time and greater opportunity to heavily market the game and get students more excited and willing to go.
While the Ravens typically dominate the U of O in the Panda Game and Capital Hoops, they suffered a loss at the hooves of the Gee-Gees during this past rivalry game. They might have done better with moral support from the Ravens fanbase.
It’s a sad irony that the big rivalry game of Canada’s most well-known sport at Carleton, is also little-attended.
