Sports editor Eric Fish spent Friday at Lawson Ice Arena watching Western Michigan host MSU in a CCHA battle. The Spartans lost, 4-3, but Fish still enjoyed his time in Kalamazoo.

Other than Munn Ice Arena, Western Michigan's Lawson Ice Arena is hands down my favorite place to watch a college hockey game, largely because of the atmosphere.

Students get in free and create a loud, enthusiastic, foul-mouthed source of energy that runs the side of the rink behind the penalty boxes.

They get pretty creative with their cheers, too, which makes it pretty intriguing to the ears.

What amazes me most is how much the students are into the game. They cheer for everything — when the Broncos break out of the zone, when the opposition goes offsides, even for an old penalty box attendant as he makes his way across the ice to his post before every period. Don't get me wrong, I'm not being critical of the students. I really like that enthusiasm.

And when you're already in the game for free, that sounds like a pretty good day.

The Broncos are clearly a different team in their home rink than they are on the road, and I'm certain the fans have something to do with it.

I think my favorite part of the night may have been when the entire student section turned and looked up to the press box at the rink's disc jockey before the third period started. Everyone at once began chanting "Dinosaur! Dinosaur!" Sure enough, the DJ played "Walk the Dinosaur" by Was Not Was, which sent everyone into a dancing frenzy.

Now, I don't know how much they pack the place for teams other than MSU and Michigan, but Lawson Ice Arena certainly is an intimidating place to play. I don't like it when the Spartans lose, but I'll never complain about going to Western to watch a game.

Eric Fish can be reached at fisheric@msu.edu.