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Best Rinks in college hockey

Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

moose97 said:
Exactly this. If you're from out east (say, Troy, NY) and make a trip to Magness Arena, you might be blown away by it. I'll admit that I've never been to Magness, but from what I've heard, it's "average" by WCHA standards. That should tell folks that haven't seen many WCHA rinks something...
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Agreed. It's a very nice rink, but not quite at the same level as REA, Amsoil, Kohl and Mariucci. I would say that it's similar to the NHC, and CWSA. You could probably throw Bemidji's new rink, whatever Mankato is calling their rink now and UNO's arena in that level as well. I've never been to Anchorage's arena, so I can't really comment on that arena, and I haven't been to the MacInnes since it was renovated.
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

Don't have the arena - yet - but we're close to getting a name:

Penn State Associate Athletic Director for Ice Arena Operations Joe Battista said in an e-mail Monday the Penn State's ice arena will be named at the next Penn State Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for Jan. 21.

He would not specify whether the name would be corporate sponsored or not, saying the decision, "is in the hands of the Board of Trustees."
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Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

PcFriars13 said:
Providence College? Haha. We're actually probably on the lower end.
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Yes you are. In Hockey East, I think the middle of the pack would be Conte, Mullins and Whittemore. They're not on the level of Agganis, Matthews, Alfond and Tsongas, but they're definitely ahead of Schneider, Lawler and Gutterson. Between Conte, Mullins and Whittemore, I'd say the Whitt is the best and Mullins is the worst, so I guess I'd say Conte is the most average rink in HE.
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

PcFriars13 said:
Providence College? Haha. We're actually probably on the lower end.
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Providence has the worst sight lines of any arena I've ever been in. There are ****ing railings EVERYWHERE.
My two favorite arenas are Matthews and Mariucci, and it's not even close.
Federal League said:
Yes you are. In Hockey East, I think the middle of the pack would be Conte, Mullins and Whittemore. They're not on the level of Agganis, Matthews, Alfond and Tsongas, but they're definitely ahead of Schneider, Lawler and Gutterson. Between Conte, Mullins and Whittemore, I'd say the Whitt is the best and Mullins is the worst, so I guess I'd say Conte is the most average rink in HE.
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I would go NU, UMO, UNH, BU*, BC, UMA, UML, UVM, MC.

UConn (Hockey East women's rink) might actually be the worst arena in America.

*I hate Agganis. I think it has no college feel at all. However, I recognize that it is modern and world-class and all those other things people like to talk about. But I would rather see a game at UMass than Agganis. That's just my personal opinion. I don't think BC is anything special, but the upgrades have made it quite nice. The banners look spectacular, I hated the old ones. And I think the scoreboards may actually be the best in college hockey now (correct me if I'm wrong).
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

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http://yaletomorrow.yale.edu/images/ingalls_insidetop.jpg
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

PcFriars13 said:
PC is nothing special...I grew up going to games at UMaine and my first game at PC I was like "Oh...that's it?" Alfond has a certain magic about it that Schneider is definitely lacking.
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I'm not that excited to see it, just excited to come out for the games. I was just in Providence in Sept and did see the outside of the arena.
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

TonyTheTiger20 said:
Providence has the worst sight lines of any arena I've ever been in. There are ****ing railings EVERYWHERE.
My two favorite arenas are Matthews and Mariucci, and it's not even close.

I would go NU, UMO, UNH, BU*, BC, UMA, UML, UVM, MC.

UConn (Hockey East women's rink) might actually be the worst arena in America.

*I hate Agganis. I think it has no college feel at all. However, I recognize that it is modern and world-class and all those other things people like to talk about. But I would rather see a game at UMass than Agganis. That's just my personal opinion. I don't think BC is anything special, but the upgrades have made it quite nice. The banners look spectacular, I hated the old ones. And I think the scoreboards may actually be the best in college hockey now (correct me if I'm wrong).
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No college feel? Did you miss the numerous collegiate banners hanging from the rafters and the murals of BU players at the entrances, as well as the pictures of former BU players lining the concourse? I agree there are lots of professional advertisements, sounds, etc. that I'm not a fan of, and the game production staff is a bit too hoity toity, but how you can claim to want to see a game at UMass, an arena with NO PEP BAND, (and horrendous sightlines) after knocking Agganis as a bad collegiate environment?

Not to mention, seeing a game at Conte these days isn't far off from going to a WWE event, with 10,000 pregame pump-up videos, and light shows after goals. I was beginning to expect to hear "If you smell that the York is cookin'" before your team took the ice in the third period.
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

Let's put it this way: when I first visited MTU and NMU, I was astounded at how crappy the rinks were. Then I visited BSU's old rink, and I stood corrected.

Mariucci obviously is the best. ;)
The Ralph is impressive, if only for the overkill of trying to look like/be a pro arena.
DU's arena is meh. I mean, it's nice, but it's not very well lighted (most noticeable on tv), and that has an effect on things.
SCSU's arena is horrid.
MTU's is actually decent (upon multiple visits) for the size/location/etc of the school.
NMU's is still bad. Not enough rise in the seats. And don't get me started on the luxury <strike>suites</strike> cubicles.

I plan to hit the east coast area next year, hopefully check out BC/BU/maybe some smaller schools (AIU!).

I will say there's something to be said about a truly historic arena, although I haven't been to a really old one yet.
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

I love Mariucci's sightlines. It is incredibly advanced for when it was built. Plus, the atmopshere used to be great.

Absolutely wonderful place to watch a game. Definitely isn't a party, though.
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

state of hockey said:
I love Mariucci's sightlines. It is incredibly advanced for when it was built. Plus, the atmopshere used to be great.

Absolutely wonderful place to watch a game. Definitely isn't a party, though.
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Right now, for most "corpie" arenas, that's the general consensus. That is one thing the smaller schools have over the traditional powerhouses: atmosphere. Not too much piped-in music, more lax on the "rules" of fan behavior (noisemakers, chants, singing, etc), and also more crowd participation/back-n-forth between fanbases at the game.
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

Brenthoven said:
Right now, for most "corpie" arenas, that's the general consensus. That is one thing the smaller schools have over the traditional powerhouses: atmosphere. Not too much piped-in music, more lax on the "rules" of fan behavior (noisemakers, chants, singing, etc), and also more crowd participation/back-n-forth between fanbases at the game.
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I'm terrified of how the atmosphere is going to change next year...
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

state of hockey said:
I disagree. I like Eero Saarinen's stuff.
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Meh. It does nothing for me. I'm a big fan of the Williams Arena style of buildings. Older than old school. Nothing cooler, period.

What they did to the Science Classroom Building is an abomination. The new building is fugly as hell.
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

dxmnkd316 said:
Meh. It does nothing for me. I'm a big fan of the Williams Arena style of buildings. Older than old school. Nothing cooler, period.

What they did to the Science Classroom Building is an abomination. The new building is fugly as hell.
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Well Saarinen didn't do that, he did Yale's arena. :) I like the traditional things like William's too, but I don't have a big problem with pushing the envelope a bit here and there.
 
Re: Best Rinks in college hockey

state of hockey said:
Well Saarinen didn't do that, he did Yale's arena. :) I like the traditional things like William's too, but I don't have a big problem with pushing the envelope a bit here and there.
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Right, of course he didn't. Didn't mean to imply I thought he did.

Yeah, that's all fine and dandy, just keep that new age expensive crap away from the sciences. Cold, functional, and unforgiving. The perfect combination for the science buildings.

Let the lib eds spend their own **** money unwisely :D
 
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