No trip to Alaska would be complete without a little sightseeing.
And in between practice and games, the Michigan hockey team had some time to kill during its trip to Alaska over the weekend. So the Wolverines hopped on the team bus and went off to see the tourist attraction of tourist attractions: the Alaska Pipeline.
"That was, like, the big attraction out there," Michigan defenseman Chris Fox said. "You know, everybody talks about the Alaska Pipeline."
So, how was it?
"Well, it's basically just a big pipe," Fox said.
Even if gazing at one of the world's biggest oil carriers wasn't the most thrilling of sightseeing trips, it wasn't entirely in vain. It did make the museum trip seem pretty interesting.
The Wolverines visited a museum on the Alaska-Fairbanks campus and found the Alaskan history and wildlife exhibits - including some big stuffed animals - to be a nice diversion from their busy schedule.
"It was pretty hectic," Fox said. "When we got there, we got off the plane and went and practiced right away. It was only 7 o'clock there, but (because of the time-zone differential) it was actually 11 o'clock to us. And we were already pretty tired when we got off the plane."
The Michigan players expected it to be cold, of course. After all, they were going to Alaska.
But this was cold.
"It was a little cold for my liking," Fox said. "It was about 12 degrees below zero when we got there. There was a little bit of snow on the ground, but not that much.
"The people (in Fairbanks) told us it doesn't really snow all that much there, because it's too cold."
Too cold for snow?
"So basically it was just ridiculously cold," Fox said.
So cold, in fact, that more than half of Thursday night's ticket holders - allegedly there were 2,150 of them - didn't even make it to the Carlson Center for the game.
Even Michigan coach Red Berenson was kept out of action by a flu bug - certainly not helped any by the weather - which seemed to be ravaging the Fairbanks community. At one point, a radio announcer said that the plethora of sick citizens was overflowing the local hospital.
Even though it sounds like a trip worth forgetting, this turned out to be the kind of trip the Wolverines will always remember.
"I really enjoyed it," Fox said. "It was definitely different. It's not like going to Ferris State or Bowling Green. I mean, it's Alaska."
After the 12-hour flights, the cold, the flu, of course the Alaska Pipeline - and, oh yeah, there was even some hockey - one of the most distinct memories, at least for Chris Fox, will be of the team just standing around.
"We were all just standing outside and looking up at the Northern Lights," Fox said. "It was really beautiful. It was amazing."
Maybe so. But chances are it was pretty cold as well.
JOE WESTRATE/Daily
Michigan forward Sean Ritchlin and the rest of the Wolverines were nearly overshadowed by Alaska-Fairbanks Thursday and Friday. Michigan struggled to pull out a pair of two-goal wins.