Even though Grinnell College does not offer ice hockey as a NCAA sport, there remains a considerable presence of National Hockey League fans who either grew up with the sport or have grown to admire various teams. As the NHL playoffs begin, The S&B’s Jonathan Gomez and Sarina Lincoln, both ‘21, caught up with students in the Spencer Grill to see what they think about the world’s coolest sport.

“I’m from Massachusetts, which is kind of a hockey area, but I never learned to skate, so I feel a little detached from the whole thing. … I am a Boston Bruins fan and once the playoffs start, I’ll start following the season more closely.” – Sayles Kasten ‘19

“I’m from Minnesota so hockey is like a way of life for us. So I grew up going to hockey games, I spent a lot of times at hockey games during high school. Going to professional hockey games has always been a great bonding experience with my friends and honestly I really like hockey fights.” – Leah Johnson ‘19

“I really like watching the playoffs. I don’t really watch the regular season, but I do watch the playoffs because it is one of the more unpredictable professional sports and that’s why I like to watch it, especially because I am big Chicago Blackhawks fan. … I feel like a lot of the game is luck because you are firing a puck at a goal that is really small. So, sometimes the goalie isn’t looking or you are blocking the goalie’s view and that unpredictability is why it makes it so much fun.” – Dante Smith ‘22

I think financial-capital-wise, it is pretty inaccessible to a lot of people because you need the ice and you only get that in cold places or when you have enough money to create a building that can keep the ice cold. So if you are in the south, there is not going to be a lot of ice.” Crys Moosman‘21