Fire on ice

Hockey is a sport of strength, grace and determination. The members of the Colorado Eagles ? Northern Colorado?s Central Hockey League professional team ? display these attributes.

In this league there are twice as many fights as goals. All the players are hungry and they are fighting for the chance to compete in higher-level leagues. To achieve their goal, the players will break through any obstacle ? including a player from the opposing team.
Funnel all this energy onto sheet of ice that?s 200 feet long and 80 feet wide, and fans are in for an exhilarating three-hour experience at the Eagles? home arena, the one-year-old Budweiser Events Center.
The arena is filled with the sound of rock anthems, cheering fans and blades on the ice. The sense of euphoria is contagious and soon the novice fan is cheering like a pro with the rest of the Eagle heads.
In the team?s second season, Colorado Eagles hockey tickets are the hottest ticket in town. Tickets are a rare and popular commodity in auctions and the team has a waiting list for its 4,200 season tickets.
?At first we signed up for tickets because it was something different to do during the winter, but now my wife and I love the tickets so much we are rabid fans,? said season-ticket holder Dave Chance. ?The games are so much fun and exciting and we have great seats.?
The Budweiser Center seats 5,211 for hockey and more than 7,000 for other events. Because of its size, every seat in the arena is a prime seat.
?At first I didn?t think my seats would be that good, but I definitely think I have the best seats in the house,? Chance said. ?They are right above the north goal, and I want to say there isn?t a bad seat in the house, but my seats are so close and they are at the right height to see everything.?
Chance said he also likes his seats because of their proximity to where the Eagles Chicks ? the team?s 11-member dance squad ? performs during times out and commercial breaks.
Other Eagles fans say they love the team because it truly is a local team.
?We have gone to a couple of Avalanche games but we don?t like having to travel to Denver and these tickets are really affordable,? said season ticket holder Mike Ramsey.
Ramsey owns two club seats and pays $600 a season ? or $18 per game ? for 31 home games. The team plays from October through March with playoffs in April.
?This summer I felt like we were going through a dry spell without hockey,? Ramsey said.
Ramsey said hockey has become so important to his wife Kathy that she schedules other events based on the Eagles schedule. After attending a team-sponsored women?s dinner, Kathy refuses to share tickets with her daughter and her fiancé.
?At this dinner they had eight women at a table with two players and they discussed rules and calls and penalties,? Ramsey said. ?I think she follows the game better than I do now.?
The enthusiasm of the fans is contagious among the players. Northern Colorado residents have embraced the team, and fans are eager to attend games and other team-sponsored events.
?This is my sixth year playing professional hockey and these are by far the best fans I have played for,? said Brad Williamson, second-year defensemen for the Eagles. ?It is so much fun to play in an arena that is filled with that many cheering and screaming fans. Other teams don?t like playing here because of our fans.?

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