When University of Michigan ice hockey fan Chris Knight, 23, attended the Big Chill Saturday, he had no idea he was in for another big chill during his drive home to Saranac Lake, New York.

While driving from Ann Arbor to New York early Monday morning with his roommate Nathan Eisenberg, the Chelsea natives joined hundreds of other motorists stranded by a blizzard on Highway 402 near Sarnia, Ontario, about 65 miles northeast of Detroit.

“We left the Ann Arbor area about 2 (a.m. Monday), got to the border and crossed on the 402 and it was OK, the highway was OK. But about two exits in, they had us get off,” said Knight, who, as of this morning, was back on the road and expecting to be home within five or six hours.

Knight said they were able to keep their 2009 Subaru Legacy running during the eight hours they spent stranded. They would occasionally get out to scrape off the windows so they could see some of what was going on outside.

“It was freezing. There were at least 40 mile-per-hour winds,” he said.

To help pass the time, Knight said, the two played poker, slept, listened to music and called family members.

“Our families were more worried than we were,” he said.

And as for food, Knight said, “We had some water and some bagels and a bag of Munchos (in the car).” 

Knight said their situation improved Monday afternoon when a farmer, Al McCartney, who had been helping officers check on stranded motorists, offered to house them for the night.

“We spent the night at a farmer’s house with about 15 other people,” he said. “It was right across the road, you couldn’t see anything because it was a whitewash.”

Knight said visibility was only about 3 or 4 feet when they walked to the farmer’s house.

Knight’s mother, Susan Moore of Chelsea, said she has been in contact with him since Monday, but only occasionally to avoid roaming charges on his cell phone.

She said Knight told her in one of his updates that a “nice farmer … fed them and let them watch, as he called it, ‘Football — the American kind.’”

After spending Monday night with McCartney and his family, Knight said, they dug out their vehicle, which had been covered by a 4-foot-deep snow drift. They were instructed by officials to drive to a warming station in Wyoming, Ontario.

The blizzard socked much of the Midwest and Canada. This photo was taken in St. Paul, Minn.

Ann Heisenfelt | Associated Press

Knight said they were two of about 210 people who spent Tuesday night at the warming station, located at a fairground, where military officials and local businesses provided cots, blankets, and food. Some stranded motorists were airlifted from the highway and brought to the station by helicopter, he said.

“It was really surreal, being in a warming center with 210 people ... in a foreign country, in a state of emergency," Eisenberg said.

Eisenberg said the "hectic and stressful" situation was the kind of thing one might see on TV, but never expect to experience. "It was kind of grounding in a way," he said.

Both men said they wanted to thank McCartney and everyone else who helped them.

According to The Associated Press, the Department of Homeland Security urges travelers to know what they're heading into when they get on the road, and to be prepared with a disaster kit that includes blankets and a shovel. And experts say stranded drivers should run the engine about 10 minutes every hour to warm up, and crack the window and keep the tailpipe clear of snow to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

Moore said she knew her son and Eisenberg were handling the situation well, but she was still concerned.

“I was worried,” she said. “I just hope he gets home today.”

She joked, “Next time, take the U.S. route.”

As he drove today just east of London, Ontario, Knight was hopeful the rest of their trip would go smoothly.

"Oh yeah, it's sunny and beautiful, actually," he said.

Heather Lockwood is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at heatherlockwood@annarbor.com or follow her on Twitter.