The cold temperatures outside the rink did little to deter Bobcats from lining up for hours in advance to get their seats for the annual rivalry.

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James Blennau ’25, MS ’26 headed up the line in the banana costume he’s been wearing faithfully to many Bobcat sports contests since his first costumed appearance at the Quinnipiac versus Yale men’s ice hockey game in 2023.

“People started to recognize me, so I decided I had to dress like this for all the games. Now, it’s almost like a tradition. I feel like the king of the student section sometimes,” said Blennau.

Blennau’s buddy, Jordan Shankman ’26, has been joining him as a second banana in the student section since last year.

Dressed in a gold cape, gold “Beat Yale” T-shirt and gold shorts, Nicholas Shalhoub ’28 put on his gold-painted game face to brave a couple of hours in the cold with friends as they waited to get into the game.

“A lot of people question my fashion choices, especially with my shorts in the cold,” Shalhoub said. “I’ve been doing this for every game. I love coming out and supporting the guys.”

Members of the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team helped keep student spirits warm by handing out hot chocolate and tickets to their playoff game against Harvard set for February 22.

“We love to support our men’s team, but we would also love to try and get some of their fans to come to our games as well. So we’re trying our best to support them in this cold weather and we’re passing out tickets to our game,” said Sophie Urban ’24, MBA ’25.  

Ganine Marottolo ’24, MSW ’26, got in line early with her friends to experience her fourth consecutive Quinnipiac versus Yale men’s ice hockey game.

“It’s just iconic and very community oriented,” said Marottolo. “Being in line takes some dedication but we do it every year, so we came prepared.”

Sarah Almeida ’24, MBA ’25, said she was excited to experience the game from a new perspective this year.

“I actually worked for Athletics for a while, so this is my first time in three years coming as fan, and it’s really great. There’s a lot of energy out here,” said Almeida.

Emma Simons ’27 came prepared with a sparkly “Win-nipiac” poster and said she and her friends were looking forward to making some noise for Quinnipiac.

“We’re ready to run to our seats. Last year’s game was super fun, it was so hype and when we won it was crazy,” said Simons.

The rush was on when the arena doors opened and hundreds of Bobcats headed for their pick of student section seats. Gavin Gudyka ’27 and Keith Baum ’27 and their friends ran to grab front-row seats by the boards. All student section seats are free for Quinnipiac students at all home games — across each of the university’s 21 Division I teams.

“We were at the game last year and it was really fun. It was electric,” said Gudyka. “This our house. We’ll be pretty loud today.”

“It’s a big rivalry. We don’t really like seeing these Bulldogs in the Bobcat den,” said Baum. 
IceCats Sarah Cassidy ’28 and Meadow Sbrega ’26 said Bobcat fans make every game special, but this night elevates the experience.

“This season has been so much fun, but the Yale game is the craziest game of the year,” Cassidy said.

In the end, the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team gave its fans what they came for — a decisive 4-1 victory over Yale.