The Oxford Blue
Oxford University's independent newspaper | A new voice for a new decade | Est. 2020..
Varsity matches play on the competitive spirit, and fierce work ethic, of the students of England’s two oldest universities. The ultimate Varsity showdown—the Boat Race—takes place in the early afternoon on the Thames, with its banks lined with spectators, and millions more watching from the comfort of home. If, however, you set out from college at about 11 p.m., walk to the back of Westgate, and enter the ice rink on Oxpens Road, you might find a very different sort of Oxford vs Cambridge matchup.  
When a friend texted me to say that he was travelling to Oxford from Cambridge to play against the “Vikings Bs,” I wondered if he was fully in control of his thumbs. For a fleeting second, I had visions of watching Scandinavian longboats race up and down the Isis. It transpired, though, that he was instead inviting me to watch his Cambridge Huskies ice hockey team do battle in a Non-Checking Division 1 South league match against the Oxford team on 1 March. 
On arrival at the rink (in black tie, naturally—a reporter has to wear his very best), we found a match just ending. Oxford’s Vikings A team had just secured victory over the Cambridge Narwhals in their Varsity game; by the time a trophy had been lifted, boxes of Carling had been swapped among the teams, and the Zamboni ice-smoothing machine thingamajig had covered the rink, we were already getting dangerously close to midnight. At long last, the teams we had really come here to watch emerged—and what a spectacle it was.  
That this is the “Non-Checking” league means that, supposedly, overt attempts at barges are penalised (Blues matches do not face such restrictions). Indeed, I was surprised to see not one, but two referees skating around in black-and-white pinstripes. The fighting that is a mainstay of the NHL is likewise forbidden in the student game. But there was no shortage of action; there were some slide tackles with the skates, intentional or not, that Aaron Wan-Bissaka would have been proud of. The concept of handball has not yet reached the ice either. Some of the game’s most exhilarating dribbles in an end-to-end match were those which involved a brief nudge of the puck with the hand as it bobbled into the air. The non-stop action was fuelled by non-stop rolling substitutes, who regularly leapt over the gate with the puck still in play to keep the team fresh. While Cambridge seemed to have more possession and tried to pass around in defensive areas a little more, Oxford had excitingly direct runners who dodged pressures and tackles with ease. This proved incredibly effective—Germany’s 7-1 defeat of Brazil took 90 minutes, but the Vikings were 7-1 up in just 40. Cambridge’s goal, scrappily smashed into the net after the puck dribbled onto the line, would be the smallest of consolations (and unfortunately, my friend played no part in it). Oxford scored three more without reply and the Viking goalkeeper maintained a very strong presence in goal, preventing a scoreline that might have been closer. Really, though, the evident gulf in quality meant that such an outcome was not so surprising.   
The Viking Bs and the Huskies face-off again in their Varsity match proper on 15 March. Some might be hitting the clubs that evening, but who needs Bridge when the Oxford Ice Rink has its own fiery tunes coming out of the commentator booth? I know which venue I’ll be dancing at. 
“Endometriosis is not fake news, it is not female hysteria nor is it a consequence of being a concubine.” Orla Case describes her experience with…
“Is anyone else exhausted? Your college auntie is.” Your College Auntie returns to respond to Oxfesses and close out seventh week with advice, humour and…
“With a cast of die-hard actors, this adaption takes the horror of the play head on, adding a sprinkle of theatricality and a dash of…
The Global Affairs team compile the biggest stories for the first week of March 2025, covering the ever-changing relationship between the US and Ukraine, the…

source