jeteye1717
New member
It's still the off-season, but here's a pre-emptive mea culpa if some of you find this a tad too long 
The Lynah Faithful have seen many unforgettable things in the 54 years since the venerable old barn opened in April, 1957, but soon they'll bear witness to something quite possibly unique in the annals of collegiate hockey: the 500th Big Red home victory. I've seen more than a few of them myself, and quite naturally have begun to wonder where this looming accomplishment ranks in the larger world of college hockey. Has any other single school earned more victories in their respective home Arena? I'm hoping fellow USCHO hockey historians can help me out ...
I've snooped around a bit on school-specific Athletic websites, but the information I'm seeking is generally not available there; I'm hoping that interested folks who've read this far may be able to extract some answers from printed yearbooks/media guides that go into greater detail.
The two most obvious candidates for 500+ home victories are Northeastern's Matthews Arena (nee Boston Arena), opened in 1910 and home to the inaugural Husky hockey game in January, 1930 (a 1-2 loss to MIT), and Princeton's Hobey Baker Memorial Arena, dedicated in January, 1923. Matthews has also played host at various times to the three other DivI schools in Greater Boston: to Boston University from 1918 to 1971 (when Walter Brown Arena opened on the BU campus) and Harvard/Boston College when construction of Bright Hockey Center/Conte Forum was underway in nearby Chestnut Hill/Cambridge. Coupled with numerous Beanpot games that were also contested there in the early days of the Tournament (not to mention the 1960 Frozen Four), I'm fairly confident that Matthews Arena holds the record for most *collective* college hockey games played, and, by extension, the most victories.
But I'm looking for the record for a single school in a single venue. Hobey Baker Arena is the next oldest surviving college hockey building, but the Tigers have always played a reduced Ivy League schedule, and - until fairly recently - have never been consistent 20-game winners; I'm doubtful their program has earned 500 victories there despite a 34-year head start on Lynah ...
What other candidates should be considered?
* Clarkson University (nee Clarkson College of Technology) holds the record for most DivI ice hockey victories (1312 and counting); how many of those were earned at Walker Arena from 1938 to 1991 before it was replaced by Cheel Arena?
* The Broadmoor Ice Palace/World Arena in Colorado Springs hosted Colorado College hockey games from 1938 to 1994 (along with the 1948-1957, and 1969 Frozen Fours); how many Tiger victories were recorded there?
* I originally thought that Michigan Tech hockey should be considered, but the Huskies changed buildings - opening the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in 1972 to replace aging Dee Stadium - in the midst of their '60s/'70s heyday; it's doubtful that either venue tops 300 wins ...
* Williams Arena hosted Gopher hockey for 64 years (1928 to 1992); how many Minnesota victories were earned there before the move across the street to Mariucci Arena?
* Yost Field House at Michigan opened in 1923, but didn't become home to Michigan hockey (as renamed Yost Ice Arena) until 1973; how many Wolverine victories have been earned here? (As an aside, I don't have a copy of 'Blue Ice,' the impressive chronicling of Michigan hockey, so can someone provide some data on Michigan venues/wins pre-Yost when the bulk of their National Championships were won?).
* Harvard's Bright Hockey center is fairly new (1979), but was built (renovated) on the bones of its predecessor - Watson Rink (1956-1978) - in the same location; if we consider Bright/Watson a single Arena, how many Crimson wins were earned there on the banks of the Charles?
* Rensselaer's Houston Fieldhouse (newly relocated from Rhode Island) opened in October, 1949 (on RPI's 125th Anniversary), and hosted its first hockey game in January, 1950; how many Engineer victories have since been earned here over the following 61 largely successful seasons?
* Four other ECACHL venues (along with Lynah) opened within the intervening decade - SLU's Appleton Arena (1951), Ingalls Rink (the 'Yale Whale') in 1958, Colgate's Starr Rink (1959), and Brown's Meehan Auditorium (1961), yet none of these programs has been consistently successful enough to approach 500 home victories ...
Are there any others to consider?
* Boston College's McHugh Forum opened in 1958, and was the home of Eagle hockey (and the 1963 Frozen Four) until 1987 when it was replaced by Conte Forum; I doubt BC hockey topped 300 home wins over that period.
* UNH's lively Snively Arena (opened in 1965) was a rockin' place during its mid-late '70s heyday before being supplanted by the Whittemore Center in 1995, but again - I doubt the Wildcats earned 300 wins there during its lifetime.
* The Denver University Arena (1948-1997) hosted Pioneer hockey (and three Frozen Fours: 1961, 1964 and 1976) over its 49-year history before Magness Arena opened in 1999; did DU top 300 home victories here?
* Artificial ice was installed in North Dakota’s Winter Sports Building in 1953, and was the home of Fighting Sioux [sic] hockey for just 19 years until replaced by 'old' Ralph Englestad Arena in 1972, before itself being supplanted by palatial 'new' Ralph Englestad Arena in 2001. Has UND won 300 home games in any single venue?
Kudos to any/all USCHO regulars who've made it this far! I'll be happy to compile/post a Master List of Arena win totals as they're passed along here, so many thanks in advance to everyone who can contribute to this work-in-progress ...
The Lynah Faithful have seen many unforgettable things in the 54 years since the venerable old barn opened in April, 1957, but soon they'll bear witness to something quite possibly unique in the annals of collegiate hockey: the 500th Big Red home victory. I've seen more than a few of them myself, and quite naturally have begun to wonder where this looming accomplishment ranks in the larger world of college hockey. Has any other single school earned more victories in their respective home Arena? I'm hoping fellow USCHO hockey historians can help me out ...
I've snooped around a bit on school-specific Athletic websites, but the information I'm seeking is generally not available there; I'm hoping that interested folks who've read this far may be able to extract some answers from printed yearbooks/media guides that go into greater detail.
The two most obvious candidates for 500+ home victories are Northeastern's Matthews Arena (nee Boston Arena), opened in 1910 and home to the inaugural Husky hockey game in January, 1930 (a 1-2 loss to MIT), and Princeton's Hobey Baker Memorial Arena, dedicated in January, 1923. Matthews has also played host at various times to the three other DivI schools in Greater Boston: to Boston University from 1918 to 1971 (when Walter Brown Arena opened on the BU campus) and Harvard/Boston College when construction of Bright Hockey Center/Conte Forum was underway in nearby Chestnut Hill/Cambridge. Coupled with numerous Beanpot games that were also contested there in the early days of the Tournament (not to mention the 1960 Frozen Four), I'm fairly confident that Matthews Arena holds the record for most *collective* college hockey games played, and, by extension, the most victories.
But I'm looking for the record for a single school in a single venue. Hobey Baker Arena is the next oldest surviving college hockey building, but the Tigers have always played a reduced Ivy League schedule, and - until fairly recently - have never been consistent 20-game winners; I'm doubtful their program has earned 500 victories there despite a 34-year head start on Lynah ...
What other candidates should be considered?
* Clarkson University (nee Clarkson College of Technology) holds the record for most DivI ice hockey victories (1312 and counting); how many of those were earned at Walker Arena from 1938 to 1991 before it was replaced by Cheel Arena?
* The Broadmoor Ice Palace/World Arena in Colorado Springs hosted Colorado College hockey games from 1938 to 1994 (along with the 1948-1957, and 1969 Frozen Fours); how many Tiger victories were recorded there?
* I originally thought that Michigan Tech hockey should be considered, but the Huskies changed buildings - opening the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena in 1972 to replace aging Dee Stadium - in the midst of their '60s/'70s heyday; it's doubtful that either venue tops 300 wins ...
* Williams Arena hosted Gopher hockey for 64 years (1928 to 1992); how many Minnesota victories were earned there before the move across the street to Mariucci Arena?
* Yost Field House at Michigan opened in 1923, but didn't become home to Michigan hockey (as renamed Yost Ice Arena) until 1973; how many Wolverine victories have been earned here? (As an aside, I don't have a copy of 'Blue Ice,' the impressive chronicling of Michigan hockey, so can someone provide some data on Michigan venues/wins pre-Yost when the bulk of their National Championships were won?).
* Harvard's Bright Hockey center is fairly new (1979), but was built (renovated) on the bones of its predecessor - Watson Rink (1956-1978) - in the same location; if we consider Bright/Watson a single Arena, how many Crimson wins were earned there on the banks of the Charles?
* Rensselaer's Houston Fieldhouse (newly relocated from Rhode Island) opened in October, 1949 (on RPI's 125th Anniversary), and hosted its first hockey game in January, 1950; how many Engineer victories have since been earned here over the following 61 largely successful seasons?
* Four other ECACHL venues (along with Lynah) opened within the intervening decade - SLU's Appleton Arena (1951), Ingalls Rink (the 'Yale Whale') in 1958, Colgate's Starr Rink (1959), and Brown's Meehan Auditorium (1961), yet none of these programs has been consistently successful enough to approach 500 home victories ...
Are there any others to consider?
* Boston College's McHugh Forum opened in 1958, and was the home of Eagle hockey (and the 1963 Frozen Four) until 1987 when it was replaced by Conte Forum; I doubt BC hockey topped 300 home wins over that period.
* UNH's lively Snively Arena (opened in 1965) was a rockin' place during its mid-late '70s heyday before being supplanted by the Whittemore Center in 1995, but again - I doubt the Wildcats earned 300 wins there during its lifetime.
* The Denver University Arena (1948-1997) hosted Pioneer hockey (and three Frozen Fours: 1961, 1964 and 1976) over its 49-year history before Magness Arena opened in 1999; did DU top 300 home victories here?
* Artificial ice was installed in North Dakota’s Winter Sports Building in 1953, and was the home of Fighting Sioux [sic] hockey for just 19 years until replaced by 'old' Ralph Englestad Arena in 1972, before itself being supplanted by palatial 'new' Ralph Englestad Arena in 2001. Has UND won 300 home games in any single venue?
Kudos to any/all USCHO regulars who've made it this far! I'll be happy to compile/post a Master List of Arena win totals as they're passed along here, so many thanks in advance to everyone who can contribute to this work-in-progress ...
