The North Country is filled with passionate sports fans, whether it be basketball, football, baseball/softball, or hockey season, there's always a game going on somewhere and chances are there are people watching.

Cheel Arena has been home to many of these contests with the Golden Knights men's and women's hockey teams taking the ice to perform for their fans. While the men's games routinely draw upwards of 2,000 fans, sadly the women seem to often play in front of an audience consisting of mostly empty seats.

I feel like the Clarkson Women's Hockey Team is one of the best kept secrets the region has to offer. In recent years the team has won not one, not two, but three national championships. Players to suit up in Potsdam include some of the best women's hockey players, not just in college, but in the world. This year's team is one that is filled with heart and a never say die attitude, that despite a multitude of injuries has consistently been ranked in the top 10 nationally all season long.

This weekend the women will be hosting Colgate in a best two out of three playoff series. On Friday the puck will drop at 6 p.m. and on Saturday game time is 3 p.m. If necessary, the two teams will do battle again on Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are just $6 for adults and $3 for children. For my family of three, that's only $15.

These young women deserve to be playing in front of a packed house filled with screaming fans. This weekend's series is likely the last opportunity to watch them play at home this year, as the quest to reach to a fifth consecutive Frozen Four will take them away from Cheel Arena, but let's send them on the road with the roar of 2,000 fans echoing in their heads.

See you at Cheel this weekend!

Benny, Jamie and Ali Fairchild

Waddington