During Big Red Weekend in October, some dedicated and arguably deranged alumni representing four decades—’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s—of the Denison men’s Hockey program descended on campus and donned their gear for the inaugural alumni hockey game.
The weekend kicked off with a light scrimmage where current coaches, along with past legendary coach, Seth Patton, could evaluate the returning talent for the evening’s mock draft. The next afternoon, teams met at Denison’s home rink in Newark in front of rabid fans, where Coach Patton led his ’80s Team White band of misfits to a storied comeback, tying the game in the final minute. The game was decided in a shootout, yielding a redemptive 5-4 win for Team Red. Later that evening, both teams of alums returned to watch the Big Red men’s team win a nail-biter of their own in a shootout over University of Pittsburgh. The weekend delivered friendships renewed, hockey passion restored, and tailgating, but most importantly, no trips to the emergency room.