The hockey game was to start at three, and an hour before that time the advance guard began to arrive from Broadwood and Greenburg. It was a glorious day, cold enough to keep the ice hard and mild enough to allow spectators to watch the game in comfort. There was scarcely a ripple of air, and what there was blew softly out of the southwest and was too kindly to bite ears or nip noses. At half past two three big coaches climbed the hill containing the Broadwood team and as many of its loyal supporters as had been able to crowd into the vehicles. Others had already arrived on foot and more followed. As it was Saturday afternoon many Greenburg enthusiasts swelled the throng of students, and long before either team appeared on the ice the rink was fringed four deep with spectators and all sorts of contrivances had been fashioned by late arrivals from which to look over the heads of those in front. French had requisitioned as many settees as he could find, and these were supplemented with boxes and planks, and finally the locker room in the gymnasium was almost denuded of its benches and would have been quite cleared had not Mr. Bendix happened along and forbidden farther spoliation.
Gerald accompanied Dan to the gymnasium when it came time to get dressed. Gerald’s work was over for the season and to-day, like the members of the Second Team and its substitutes, he was only a member of the audience. He hung around while the others got into their playing togs, good-naturedly helping here and there. Broadwood was dressing upstairs. When the team were ready Alf spoke to them quietly and confidently, begging them to keep together and not to sacrifice team work for individual effort. Then, clad in coats or dressing gowns, with their skates, shoes, and sticks in hand, they filed out of the gymnasium and walked down to the rink.
Their appearance was the signal for an outburst of cheers that lasted for several moments. A minute or two later they took possession of the rink and began warming up. The ice was in fine shape, hard and smooth, and the skates rang merrily as they charged up and down. Sticks clashed and pucks flew back and forth, often whizzing into the crowd and causing heads to duck. Broadwood appeared soon and received her meed of acclaim. Then for some ten minutes the teams practiced. Yardley wore white running trunks over dark blue tights, white shirts and blue knitted caps. Broadwood was attired in dark-green stockings, khaki knickerbockers, green shirts and green caps. The shirts bore, as a rule, a white B intersected by crossed hockey sticks. Of the Yardley players, five flaunted on their shirts a blue Y with a smaller H and T at right and left. At a minute or so after three the referee called the teams together and read them the usual lecture in regard to tripping, body checking, and so on. Then he tossed a coin, Alf called it, and the Blue took the north goal. The line-up was as follows:
| Hanley, l. e. | r. e., Took |
| Goodyear, l. c. | r. c., Warner |
| Roeder, r. c. | l. c., Cosgrove |
| Durfee, r. e. | l. e., Graham |
| Felder, c. p. | c. p., Little |
| Loring, p. | p., Murray |
| Vinton, g. | g., Chisholm |
Silence fell as the referee held his whistle to his lips in the center of the rink and prepared to drop the puck.
“Now, get your men, fellows, and play fast!” called Alf.
The whistle blew and the puck dropped to the ice. There was a moment’s clashing of sticks and then it went back to Durfee who started along the boards with it. The enemy was on him in a moment, though, and Graham, captain of the Green, stole away with it, Durfee slashing wildly at his feet and stick.
“Cut that out, Durf!” shouted Alf. “Play the puck! Get in there, Felder, and break that up!”
Broadwood had managed to get into formation, her four big forwards strung out across the rink and skating hard, with the puck sidling back and forth from one to another. But it is one thing to reach the threshold and quite another to enter the door. Felder sent a Broadwood player spinning and Goodyear, close behind, whipped the puck away and started back with it. In a twinkling the attacked were the attackers and Yardley swung up the ice with Broadwood in hot pursuit. Across went the disk to Hanley. Took, of Broadwood, challenged unsuccessfully and Hanley passed back to Roeder, who shot. But his aim was poor and the puck banged against the boards to left of goal. There was a spirited scrimmage for its possession and finally Broadwood got away with it. After that the play stayed close to the center of the rink, neither one side nor the other being able to get by the opposing defense. Time was called frequently for off-side playing, which slowed the game up considerably.