DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — The puck drops at 8:05 tonight, but campers started pitching their tents outside the Goggin Ice Center Thursday afternoon.

Miami University students bundled up with blankets, sleeping bags and textbooks to be the first in line for tickets for the match-up between the nation's top-ranked Division I collegiate hockey team, the Miami RedHawks, and the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines.

"Blankets will outnumber people by about 3 to 1. I hope that's the outcome of the game, in Miami's favor," sophomore Mike Cohen said while helping friends get set up for a long night in the cold.

The game has been sold out for about three months, but students can get in free. As there are a limited number of seats in "Ricoville" — the student section of the Steve Cady Arena — it's first come, first serve to get one of about 1,200 seats.

This may be the first game that students will be turned away, said Joy Helbing, assistant director of promotions in the university's sports marketing department.

Excitement for the RedHawks hockey team has been strong all season, said Jonathan Gair, a junior and editor of the Miami Student.

Students sharing tents said they coordinated schedules and set up shifts to keep at least one person in line while others attended lectures and took exams today. Senior Jeremy Krammes said those in line were given numbers to prevent cheating.

Through special arrangements, Friday night's game — televised by CSTV —will be available on MU's cable channel 40. On DirecTV, CSTV is located on channel 610, and, on DishNetwork, Friday's game will be shown on channel 152. Subscribers to Time-Warner Cable's digital sports package in the Oxford/Dayton area can view Friday's game on channel 149.

Saturday's game, televised by Fox Sports Ohio, will be available on channel 25 on MU's cable system. DirecTV viewers may see the game on channel 637, while DishNetwork subscribers may view Saturday's game on channel 425.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or rwilson@coxohio.com.