Interstate 25 construction, a man’s death and funneling thousands of vehicles through two gates combined to produce epic traffic jams at Saturday’s NHL Stadium Series game at the Air Force Academy.

Hundreds of fans took to social media before, during and after the game to complain that traffic congestion made them late for the game between the Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings.

Many said they gave up and abandoned their cars along roadways outside the academy, walking several miles in freezing temperatures. Others said they just gave up and returned home, while others said they deserved a refund.

David Mann said it took about four hours to get to the stadium from the Boulder area, a drive that normally takes less than half that.

“Everything about this event was a mess. We left in the middle of the second period to get back home in Thornton,” he posted on The Gazette’s Facebook page.

“Ridiculous event planning fail,” Mindi Upchurch posted. “Epic fail.”

Said another woman, “We left at the end of the 2nd period to avoid the cluster that we knew the parking lot would turn into. My husband paid $165 per ticket. He is so disappointed and angry.”

Some of the online descriptions of apparent chaos at the game, which drew a sellout crowd of 43,574, could have been due to Denver fans’ unfamiliarity with events on the military base.

The academy had posted advisories that fans should plan to arrive early. The NHL and the academy had sent out traffic advisories that large crowds and heavy traffic were expected.

Much of the traffic snarl started in the Gap, where the Colorado Department of Transportation is widening I-25.

But that was worsened Saturday by accidents on the interstate and CDOT’s decision to close one of the two lanes in each direction around 2 p.m. in the 18 miles between Castle Rock and Monument for emergency pothole repairs

“We were trying to make sure everyone was safe and not swerving to miss a pothole,” said CDOT spokeswoman Presley Fowler.

“The project team had been addressing potholes all week to avoid doing this during the game, but some big ones popped up,” she explained Sunday.

The northbound lane was reopened by the time the game ended, she said.

Gazette sports reporter Brent Briggeman said the line of vehicles entering the Falcon Stadium parking lot had cleared by 7:15 p.m., early in the game’s second period. He said traffic delays weren’t much worse than the academy’s home football game against Army, which drew a crowd of 41,000 in November and also triggered backups.

Fans leaving the stadium after the game also had to deal with the closure of the academy’s north gate while the death of a man was investigated.

Details about the man’s death have not been released, but witnesses told the Gazette that the man apparently fell to his death from a bridge just west of the academy’s north gate during or after the game.

The man’s identity is being withheld pending an autopsy by the El Paso County coroner and the cause of his death remains under investigation. Academy officials confirmed that the man was a civilian and did not have any affiliation with the military.

The Avs referred questions to the NHL. saying it was a league, rather than a team event. A NHL spokeswoman referred fans to a joint statement issued late Sunday by the league and academy.

Troy Garnhart, an academy Athletic Department spokesman, said the school estimates the traffic delays effected a “small number of people. It seemed the overwhelming number of people got into the stadium before the first puck drop. Most of the fans hopefully got there early and had a good experience.”

The statement said the academy and NHL both warned fans to arrive early and the academy opened both of its entrances Saturday at 5:30 a.m. and stopped vehicle checks at 12:30 p.m. to reduce congestion. The traffic jam was worsened by multiple accidents, the road repairs and death near the north gate, the statement said.

Garnhart said the academy is looking at adding more ushers, concession locations and workers to help with entering the stadium and serving fans at concessions.

“We certainly feel bad for people who didn’t have a good experience. Our goal is for everybody to have a good experience,” Garnhart said. “We believe most of the people had a fantastic experience.”

The academy isn’t worried about major traffic jams for the remaining two outdoor games at Falcon Stadium — officials expect 5,000-7,000 to attend the Air Force-Colorado College game on Monday and fewer than 1,000 to attend a high school game on Tuesday.