Thrilling shenanigans.
Pucks flying, bodies flying
into the goal nets,
into the boards.
Checking, tackling, tripping,
roughing, taunting rile up
boys until one of them
cracks.
Bench mates
pounce into the rink to
join in the tumult.
Punches are socking

faces as helmets
pop off.
It’s a tangled mass of limbs as
zebras on ice skates try to
break the bond of superglue
adhering the horde
together. The spectators
riot and
provoke more combat.
Remnants of hockey sticks
litter the ice,
snapped like

dry spaghetti noodles in the
mayhem.
Gloves, pads, and jerseys,
shed in order to more easily
color the enemy
blue and purple,
dot the floor
amidst the shards of wood and
piles of players.
Five minute penalties
hold the starters

hostage, vexing the crowd.
The boxes fill with the stench of
frigid sweat,
pungent as
six cram in each.
A USU athlete exits the
stadium, ejected by the

three blind mice in
black and white.
Both teams are amped,
tensions, strung tight.
We are out for U of U
blood tonight
The air is thick
with cries of the
Aggies
screaming like banshees,
“It was worth it!”