Three things contribute to make your live sports experience live in the upper echelon:

1) The game
2) The fans
3) The atmosphere

When you can take all three of those and add in two incredibly unique intangibles, the upper echelon enters the territory of both "unforgettable" and "elite." That's exactly what happened to me Thursday night in Ann Arbor, where Jeremy White and I traveled to be a part of the Niagara vs. Michigan mens hockey broadcast for the Niagara Sports Network.

I'm not sure I've ever written of my childhood dreams in this space. Sure, I wanted to be a firefighter and a right wing on the Buffalo Sabres, but playing ice hockey for the Michigan Wolverines was paramount to all other goals, pun intended. When teachers would ask my second-grade class to write books on their future, there I'd be with the winged-helmet, scoring four goals (and then getting drafted by the Sabres. I wore No. 82).

When you combine that old, dead dream with a spot behind the bench of the team I've been thrilled to broadcast for -- the Niagara Purple Eagles -- you've got all the makings of a classic night for one Nicholas Mendola.

Yost Arena is where college hockey is supposed to be played. Tens of championship banners hang from the steel girders that trace the ceiling from any of the high brick sides that form the barn. The boards in front of the home team's bench are sponsor-free. They just read, in maize and blue, "Michigan."

Thursday night was the home opener, so it was a fairly-packed house that greeted the Purple Eagles, who are used to playing in big buildings and know a thing or two about home-ice (Niagara held a nation-best 22-game home unbeaten streak at Dwyer Arena that ended in late 2007).

From "Hail to the Victors" ringing out from the brass band after every Wolverines goal to the sunken benches that allow fans in the front row the ability to lean over the glass and scream into the bench area, Yost is loud. I'm not talking jackhammer loud... I'm talking "there's a jet taking off and I forgot my ear muffs" loud.

Then, there was the game. As much as I grew up with Blue, you best believe I wanted Niagara to come out on-top. When Michigan opened up a 3-0 lead 11:38 into the first period, any Purps fan had to be nervous about the final score. For one thing, Niagara suited up nine freshman. Coach Dave Burkeholder's boys didn't quit, however, and junior netminder Adam Avramenko got nutty in the nets for the next 47 minutes. Captain Ryan Olidis dented the twine in the first to make it 3-1, and Paul Zanette scored in the final minute of the second to set up an intense third.

The Purple Eagles outshot Michigan, 16-14, in the final frame, but too many trips to the box stopped them short of earning the tie. At 0-3-1, Niagara doesn't want morale-builders, but hanging tough with a program that puts some gritty bodies in the NHL -- John Madden, Mike Knuble, Aaron Ward and Mike Komisarek among them -- is a solid building block for a very young team. Twelve of Michigan's 26 players have their NHL rights held by teams, and a couple won't be draft-eligible until 2010's edition.

Those disenchanted with pro sports would do well to check out the college hockey game. If you've never been to Dwyer up in Lewiston, make the trek, or plan a road trip out "West." Howard Simon told me this morning that his experience seeing Michigan/Michigan State at Yost was incredible, so you know it's not just maize-and-blue bias from me.