CHESTNUT HILL - Boston College held its second annual Ice Jam event, a celebration of Boston College men's and women's basketball and ice hockey, on Thursday night at Conte Forum. The event, hosted by ESPN anchor Steve Levy, was well attended by students and fans and provided an entertaining glimpse into the winter sports season.
The event was especially unique because it the floor at Conte Forum featured a split between the basketball court and the ice hockey rink. The evening started with a rap and then Levy and WEEI's Jon Meterparel, the voice of BC men's basketball and football, helped introduce the women's basketball team and women's ice hockey team before welcoming the men's basketball team and men's ice hockey team onto the floor.
"It was cool," said Eagles' junior guard Matt Humphrey of the Boston College men's basketball team. "We get some fans out here, we get some of the students involved. We're doing ice hockey and basketball, so it's cool."
After all four teams were introduced, there were dancing competitions between a group from the school and the women's basketball team, as well as a special appearance from Snap Boogie of America's Got Talent, who put on quite the dancing show. The event also featured a light scrimmage between young Boston College hockey fans and the Eagles' men's hockey team, which is currently ranked No. 1 in the country.
Following the hockey scrimmage, there was a hockey accuracy drill where players had to knocks down four foam circles on the four corners of the net. Barry Almeida was the winner for the men, knocking down all four in an impressive 10.1 seconds.
Basketball took over following the hockey competition, with a three-point competition taking place on the opposite end of Conte Forum. Kristen Doherty and Kerri Shield took part for the women while Danny Rubin and Humphrey duked it out for the men. Rubin won the competition with a score of 16, beating out Humphrey by two.
The entire night was a fun event for all involved, one that Humphrey hadn't seen before.
"Last year was the first year doing it," said Humphrey. "Prior to last year, no, I've never heard of anything. I think it's a cool, innovative activity for students to come out and get involved with the basketball team and the hockey team and get a little preview of what's the season's going [to be like]."
Regarding the turnout for the event [no official numbers were reported by Boston College], Humphrey was happy with the amount of fans that showed up, but said he'd like to see even more come out to support the teams.
"I thought the fans were pretty cool," he said. "I'd love to see more, but you know, it's a BC flavor, so it's fine."
BC's mens basketball team opens its season with a home game against the University of New Hampshire on Monday, November 14 while the women's team opens on Friday, November 11 at home against Farleigh Dickinson.
For more Boston College sports coverage, visit our team blog, BC Interruption.