Lindsay France/University Photography

Sean Collins '12 advances the puck during the Red Hot Hockey game in Madison Square Garden Nov. 26. View the slide show

Lindsay France/University Photography

Cornell alumni, friends and family enjoy the Red Hot Skate! at Bryant Park prior to the game.

Lindsay France/University Photography

The Lynah Faithful cheer on the Big Red.

The Lynah Faithful, avid fans of Big Red hockey, packed the sold-out, non-league game against the Boston University (BU) Terriers at New York City's Madison Square Garden Nov. 26. The matchup, a tradition dating from 1925, rarely offered a dull moment.

After trailing the Terriers 1-0 for the better part of two periods, senior forward Locke Jillson put a loose puck into the net with 8:54 on clock in the third period, igniting a chorus of "Let's go, Red! Let's go, Red!" and tying the game, 1-1.

Minutes later, the goal that might have sealed the game -- a shot that went high, bounced off the back glass and flew skyward before bouncing off the back of BU goalie Kieran Millan and into the net -- brought elated Cornellians to their feet in a flurry of high fives before the goal was summarily contested and rejected. The point, members of the officiating crew ruled, did not count because it had been blown dead by a referee's whistle after he lost sight of the puck.

Play continued into overtime when, at 2:12, a wide shot by BU junior Max Nicastro deflected off the stick and thigh of BU junior Ross Gaudet and into the goal, ending the game in Boston's favor, 2-1.

To the Lynah Faithful, however, the evening was about more than chalking up a win or loss.

Hours before the game started, Midtown Manhattan was awash in red-and-white jerseys, sweatshirts and scarves, as Cornellians gathered at a host of alumni events including "Red Hot Skate!" in Bryant Park and pregame gatherings at Niles, Slattery's, Local Café, the Heartland Brewery, Stout-NYC, Legends and the Blarney Stone.

The events brought out die-hard Big Red fans as well as some who were new to the tradition. "I was an architecture student, so I hardly ever got out," said Stephanie Cockerl '96, who gathered at Legend's with other members of her Class Council. "So when Cornell and BU first played that game many years ago, I was finally indoctrinated into the legacy of Cornell hockey mystique," she said.

For Lynah Faithful veterans, the evening was a chance to swap stories and revisit old memories. David Caleca '96 of New York City recalled catching a puck and staying up all night for tickets. Todd Rethemeier '93, M. Eng. '94, M.B.A. '95, of Long Island, recounted the road trip he took to Ann Arbor, Mich., to cheer the Big Red during the first round of the 1991 NCAA tournament. This year, Rethemeier brought his nephew Jake Abel '15 and Tim Murray '15 to the game.

For some, enthusiasm for Cornell Hockey has become a family affair. "I'm one of the more obnoxious Lynah Faithful," said Marc Milgrom '94 of Brooklyn, who was attending the game with his wife Allison Milgrom '93 and their daughter Alexandra. "I've been known to lose my voice from time to time."

Even in the vaulted ceiling of Madison Square Garden, the enthusiasm of Big Red hockey fans was difficult to contain.

"It gives me a sense of community and school pride," said Ben Rockey-Harris '04, who drove up from Washington, D.C., for the game. "It's a flashback to all the great times I had as an undergraduate," he said. "It brings that feeling of being at Lynah on a Friday night back in my life for a brief moment."

Claire Lambrecht '06 is a freelance writer in New York City.