The puck dropped at 2 p.m. last Saturday in the final home contest of the 2009-2010 UNH Women's Hockey season. The matchup was against fellow Hockey East powerhouse, Boston College.
Entering the arena, the players were surrounded by a sea of blue -- not just of UNH fans, but rather of empty Whittemore Center seats.
According to United States College Hockey Organization statistics, the Whittemore Center is filled only to 8.6 percent of capacity for most women's games. Contrastingly, men's games receive an average attendance of 6125 fans, which is 100.2 percent of capacity.
The lack of fans is not in correlation to the team's performance, as the women took to the ice ranked 4th in the country, according to USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Polls.
Saturday's game had special significance to several players and their families. It was Senior Day for the Wildcats, who will be graduating players Kelly Paton, Shannon Sisk, Micaela Long, and Kelly Cahill at the end of this year.
In the seniors' time sporting blue and white, the team has won three consecutive Hockey East titles, maintaining an 84.8 winning percentage in what is arguably the most competitive league in the country. Since 2006, the team has also made two trips to the Frozen Four.
Also, Kacey Bellamy, recent alumnus of the team, just skated for the U.S. National Team, winning a silver medal in the Olympics.
With such an impressive record of achievement, the lack of fan support is difficult to understand.
"The talent is definitely there," said Stephen Hardy, Professor of Kinesiology and Coordinator of the Sport Studies Program at the University of New Hampshire.
Unfortunately, the fans aren't.
"It's really a chicken or the egg type situation-- Why doesn't the media give it more attention? If the sport was more popular it would receive more media coverage. If it received more coverage, it would be more popular with fans," said Hardy.
"It's a circular problem," he said.
When asked why more students don't attend games, current UNH student Matt Story paused to think.
"For me, at least, it really comes down to the absence of a highly charged emotional atmosphere. Being in the stands at a men's game is just more fun. It's more exciting."
The issue of team support extends beyond the university. Popularity of the sport depends on top-level competition. In a women's sport that is dominated by two countries, it is difficult to develop a global market.
"It is rare that we see a team beat either the United States or Canada," said Hardy.
He insists that increased popularity for the women's game begins at a grassroots level and,
"Those roots are beginning to grow... The skill level [in the sport] has increased at a rate unlike I've seen."
Others are also optimistic about the future of the women's game, and specifically, about the UNH team.
"Although far fewer people attend the women's games, the UNH women's team has one of largest followings in the country," said Becca Rubinstein, long time fan.
Relative to all division I women's hockey teams, UNH ranks 8th in overall fan attendance, with an average of 541 fans per game, according to USCHO statistics.
When asked about the player's thoughts on fan support, Erin Whitten, former UNH player and current assistant coach of the team, comments,
"They don't really say much. They might throw a few sarcastic remarks like ‘Oh look at the stands. We're jam packed today.' But I think they really understand that at UNH, we really have a better attendance than a lot of programs. I think they are very appreciative of our fans. They [the players] don't tend to be negative because we have some of the best fans for women's hockey."
She does, however, note the lack of student fans.
"We get the outside, the community. But, we don't get the student support, which is something I've never understood... I know that they show very strong support for the men's team, so I don't think its hockey that's the issue," said Rubinstein.
Rubinstein also spoke about why, despite consistently being one of the top-ranked teams, more students don't show up to support the women.
"Some-- mostly those who have never been to games-- think women's hockey is too slow and boring to watch. Those who have been to a few games will generally not make this claim because it's pretty much impossible to actually watch one of the games and apply the word "slow" to any of the players," said Rubinstein.
Whittan also said that it is common for first timers at women's hockey games to wonder why they had never attended a game before.
"Many people have come up after a women's game and said, "Oh I wish I had seen this before. I wish I had known about this," said Whitten. "I think it's growing in popularity. It's building as far as the fan base goes... It's a very positive direction."
Those who do attend UNH games are quick to appreciate the level of talent. Some even argue that the women's game is a slightly more skillful, finesse-based form of hockey than that of the men's.
"The lack of checking forces the players to find other ways to take and keep the puck and get around opponents. People who don't go to games are missing out on truly amazing hockey," said Rubinstein.
Rubinstein also commented on the excitement of women's hockey games.
"They're missing the chance to see Kelly Paton put the puck right between a defender's legs and continue on to complete a hat trick. They're missing out on seeing Lindsey Minton pull off an epic glove save to completely rob Allie Thunstrom [of Boston College] of what should have been a gorgeous breakaway goal. They're missing out on Kayley Herman getting an assist and shutting out Quinnipiac in the same game. They're missing out on seeing some of the top rookies in the country play," said Rubinstein
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