ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) - Throwing fish on the ice before the annual hockey game against Harvard is a tradition at Cornell University.
But for Friday's game, Cornell officials warned that fans caught with fish would be tossed from the rink.
Cornell fans have been pelting fish at Crimson players for decades. Sometimes the fish count - including the occasional lobster and octopus - reaches more than 100. Three years ago, a Harvard player was hit on the head by a lake trout.
Crimson players have come to expect the fish tossing, and line up on the far side of the ice from the student section to avoid getting hit.
"It kind of gets us going and kind of adds fuel to the fire to the weekend. (The players) like it," said Topher Scott, a junior assistant captain with Harvard's team.
Players and fans may like it, but Cornell officials don't. Fans were asked to arrive early for Friday's game so they could be searched. Those found with fish or alcohol were to be turned away.
Cornell coach Mike Schafer has never seen a Cornell-Harvard game without the fish-tossing ritual since the mid-1980s, when he was a player.
"Our administration has done a good job, because at one point in time, it was out of control," Schafer said. But despite the warnings, he said Cornell students "won't be denied" their tradition Friday.
