RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

[DeepRed72]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

Why do I find myself agreeing with you lately? The Brown game is the more crucial for us to win. Although i would love a sweep, if we have to settle for a tie i would not want it against Brown. We have not matched up well against them for the past few years and I am not sure if it is anything more than just style of play. Yale is a tougher match up this year than in the past few as they have shifted somewhat from a speed game to a more physical game. Brown most definitely over achieves against us as we watch other teams handle them more easily. In any case we need a win Friday and we can go from there.

Both games are important. A win vs. Brown increases our probability of winning COp vs. Mass-Lowell and possibly flipping that comparison as Mass-Lowell is in RPI reach. If we beat Yale we can flip that comparison by winning the COp or the RPI. A loss would make it near impossible as we would then need to catch them on RPI to flip it. Once again to be in a decent PWR position (#13 or better) at the end of the regular season we are going to need to average 70% in these last 10 games. Then we need to win at least one playoff series. Sad to say but it looks as if a 20 win season will not earn an Auto-bid.

 

[Pappy89]

Sounds about right. I was working in a banquet hall, and called in late. Went to work between OTs, and watched the end of the game at the bar. I refused to work until the game was over.

Actually, the semifinal was shown at 11 AM on Saturday. The reason for the delayed broadcast was that ESPN decided to show a women's final four BB game instead. Remember these were the days before ESPN2, otherwise, the game would have been shown live.

 

[rpi82]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

If I had to rank the ten I've seen...

HFH, Appleton, Hobey, Ingalls, Bright, Lynah, [whoever gave Quinnipiac the biggest pile of money], Starr, Cheel, Messa

I've been to games at 11 of 12 schools (albeit at Walker Arena instead of Cheel and at Hobey for a women's game) and have seen Starr but it wasn't in use. If I had to rank them it would be:

HFH, Lynah, Ingalls, Appleton, TD Bank, Thompson, Bright, Meehan, Hobey, Walker, Starr, Messa

From a purely facilities standpoint TDB and Thompson should probably be higher, but I like older buildings with character and history. Meehan (no fan interest), Hobey (women's game) and Starr (no game) may deserve better but it's hard to judge empty buildings. Meehan, Hobey and Thompson were also cold. I remember Walker as being cold before the game and pretty warm by the time it was over because it was a full house and a small building.

 

[lugnut92]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

HFH, Lynah, Ingalls, Appleton, TD Bank, Thompson, Bright, Meehan, Hobey, Walker, Starr, Messa

From a purely facilities standpoint TDB and Thompson should probably be higher, but I like older buildings with character and history.

I wholeheartedly agree about Quinny's rink, and to a certain extent, Cheel. They're objectively nice, but have no atmosphere (or have an atmosphere I actively hate).

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

It's a short walk to the bathroom.

Thought maybe you brought the laptop with you or something.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

The band hasn't made the Yale/Brown trip since you went to RPI, FlagDUDE (they did go to Yale for the playoffs in 2009, but that's a little different). It was more than overdue. A whole generation of pep band members never visited either school, but they seem to make the Central NY swing every other year.

In any case, I will obviously be at the Yale game, and I may or may not go to Yale-Union, depending on when the people crashing at my apartment get in on Friday.

Actually, I don't think the band made a full weekend trip to both Yale and Brown when I was there (I was only with the band 06-08). Brown was a "one night stand" in 06-07, and Yale was the playoffs in 07-08. I will say, though: If it wasn't for the pep band, I probably wouldn't have the interest in college hockey that I have now, and I mean beyond home games at HFH. I also wouldn't have had the desire to visit all of the ECAC rinks.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

I've heard good things about Thompson. The Pep Band went there my senior year, but I had a GRE subject test the next morning so I had to miss it. Like me, most of the people I know have also never been Brown, so I know little about Meehan other than it being called an "Auditorium." I think my favorite non-HFH rink in the league is Appleton, or at least it would be if it weren't for that stupid air raid siren.

If you don't like air raid sirens, you're not going to like Brown. I don't remember Meehan with as much clarity, but it felt like a home game.

I went to Thompson that time you described (although I wasn't with the band), but I will echo the same sentiments.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

I love the VERY diverse character of the ECAC rinks. I like Appleton because it has that 'good old barn' feeling (do they still have the wooden bench seats?); Thompson has good sight lines, knowledgeable crowd; Hobey Baker feels like they really intended the building to be a library; Colgate feels like a suburban neighborhood rink; Clarkson makes you wonder about priorities...a modern palace in the midst of rather shabby academic and residence buildings; Yale...worst acoustics anywhere...when you get a band in there you need earplugs; Lynah is a great atmosphere when students show up; and the Salt Dome (what can you say?...nice campus 'though). But the HFH is special.

Yes, SLU still has the wooden bench seats. Colgate's getting a new rink, so this year's your last chance to see a game at Starr.

 

[lugnut92]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

Actually, I don't think the band made a full weekend trip to both Yale and Brown when I was there (I was only with the band 06-08). Brown was a "one night stand" in 06-07, and Yale was the playoffs in 07-08. I will say, though: If it wasn't for the pep band, I probably wouldn't have the interest in college hockey that I have now, and I mean beyond home games at HFH. I also wouldn't have had the desire to visit all of the ECAC rinks.

Looking at the wiki, it appears that the Pep Band has never made the trip to Yale and Brown since they became travel partners.

 

[Pappy89]

I believe you are correct. I remember going to Brown/Dartmouth ("Dartmouth is everywhere!"). That is one of the reasons this trip was picked. They want to diversify, but also have the men's trip after break for the playoff push. We used to do two men's trips, but now they go to a women's road trip, which is nice too (This year was RIT).

Looking at the wiki, it appears that the Pep Band has never made the trip to Yale and Brown since they became travel partners.

 

[rpi82]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

I wholeheartedly agree about Quinny's rink, and to a certain extent, Cheel. They're objectively nice, but have no atmosphere (or have an atmosphere I actively hate).

It's hard for me to keep other personal feelings out of the list. For instance, under normal circumstances Bright would be a rink that I'd probably rank higher. However, I have a strong dislike for Harvard. I don't think I've ever been prouder of my older daughter than the day I took her to tour schools in Boston. At the end I asked her about each one and regarding Harvard she said, "Dad, they don't have a real engineering school."

To top it off, Harvard used Bright to gain an advantage. Because their long-time coach (whose name escapes me at the moment) preferred a fast team, they actually built Bright with the odd size of 205x90 (or something similar). They also used to keep the ice hard as a rock. It's just gamesmanship I know, but Harvard hardly needs additional advantages.

Bright was also the scene of two of my more memorable RPI fan experiences. I came the closest to ever engaging in fisticuffs with an opposing fan when some punk who'd been raised with more money than guidelines for proper behavior started yelling racially based remarks at Bruce Coles and I told him to shut up. On a more positive front, I can rarely remember being happier than a playoff game when Jeff Gabriel (IIRC) poked in an over-time rebound to eliminate top-seeded Harvard.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

I believe you are correct. I remember going to Brown/Dartmouth ("Dartmouth is everywhere!"). That is one of the reasons this trip was picked. They want to diversify, but also have the men's trip after break for the playoff push. We used to do two men's trips, but now they go to a women's road trip, which is nice too (This year was RIT).

Were Brown and Dartmouth ever travel partners? It doesn't make sense to me. I thought that it was Brown-Harvard and Vermont-Dartmouth before UVM left. When Army was in the league, we were Vermont's partner, Army with Princeton, and the 4 NE Ivies were partnered as they are now.

I never was there, but wasn't Walker open at one end at some time?

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

Were Brown and Dartmouth ever travel partners? It doesn't make sense to me. I thought that it was Brown-Harvard and Vermont-Dartmouth before UVM left. When Army was in the league, we were Vermont's partner, Army with Princeton, and the 4 NE Ivies were partnered as they are now.

I never was there, but wasn't Walker open at one end at some time?

I also thought it was Brown-Harvard and UVM-Dartmouth, and then Yale-Princeton.

 

[RPI fan 4 life]

Were Brown and Dartmouth ever travel partners? It doesn't make sense to me. I thought that it was Brown-Harvard and Vermont-Dartmouth before UVM left. When Army was in the league, we were Vermont's partner, Army with Princeton, and the 4 NE Ivies were partnered as they are now.

I never was there, but wasn't Walker open at one end at some time?

You are correct Ralph on the travel partners. I never remember Brown and Dartmouth as partners.
I was only at Walker once (thank god), and don't remember it being open at one end. There were only 4 or 5 rows high on the sides, and most of the seats were down on one end where the students and the band sat. Of course, the opposing goalie was stuck down in that end twice and had to face the abuse and that stinking bell...
Oh, and the long time Harvard coach was Bill Cleary.

 

[Pappy89]

You are correct. I am embarrassed that I screwed that up. I should have checked the wiki page before typing.

You are correct Ralph on the travel partners. I never remember Brown and Dartmouth as partners.
I was only at Walker once (thank god), and don't remember it being open at one end. There were only 4 or 5 rows high on the sides, and most of the seats were down on one end where the students and the band sat. Of course, the opposing goalie was stuck down in that end twice and had to face the abuse and that stinking bell...
Oh, and the long time Harvard coach was Bill Cleary.

 

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

Both games are important. A win vs. Brown increases our probability of winning COp vs. Mass-Lowell and possibly flipping that comparison as Mass-Lowell is in RPI reach. If we beat Yale we can flip that comparison by winning the COp or the RPI. A loss would make it near impossible as we would then need to catch them on RPI to flip it. Once again to be in a decent PWR position (#13 or better) at the end of the regular season we are going to need to average 70% in these last 10 games. Then we need to win at least one playoff series. Sad to say but it looks as if a 20 win season will not earn an Auto-bid.

Of course both are important. That goes without saying. But as i said, if we had to tie one of the games i would much prefer it to be with Yale after having beaten Brown. The other way around just strikes me as worse. I would not like to carry the burden of two losses to Brown around with us just like i did not enjoy the 2 losses in Alaska.

 

[LTsatch]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

I have been to Ingalls, Meehan, Bright, TDBank, HFH, Baker, Achilles and Thompson. I understand that 90% of the posters here are RPI fans, but I just don't get the love for HFH. I have said it before, you get a temporary feeling in that building, like someone dropped football stands into a warehouse. The fans have character, the building not so much. And don't get me going on the pillars. Of the 8 buildings I have been in, I would only rank Achilles worse. As a student of building construction, I constantly find my eye wandering to the roof structures in arenas. There is an amazing diversity of roof architecture, with ingalls constantly amazing me. Most of you probably know that the man who designed Ingalls also designed the St. Louis arch. Most of the structures he designed had an arch as his signature. This image is cool. https://dome.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.3/29791/115210_sv.jpg?sequence=2

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

I have been to Ingalls, Meehan, Bright, TDBank, HFH, Baker, Achilles and Thompson. I understand that 90% of the posters here are RPI fans, but I just don't get the love for HFH. I have said it before, you get a temporary feeling in that building, like someone dropped football stands into a warehouse. The fans have character, the building not so much. And don't get me going on the pillars. Of the 8 buildings I have been in, I would only rank Achilles worse. As a student of building construction, I constantly find my eye wandering to the roof structures in arenas. There is an amazing diversity of roof architecture, with ingalls constantly amazing me. Most of you probably know that the man who designed Ingalls also designed the St. Louis arch. Most of the structures he designed had an arch as his signature. This image is cool. https://dome.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.3/29791/115210_sv.jpg?sequence=2

Most of the pillars were removed when the rink was renovated the earlier 1980s. Before that they certainly were a problem.

 

[Waite21]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

I have been to Ingalls, Meehan, Bright, TDBank, HFH, Baker, Achilles and Thompson. I understand that 90% of the posters here are RPI fans, but I just don't get the love for HFH.

Having moved to the comparative college hockey wasteland that is Pennsylvania shortly after graduation, I can't claim to have seen games in as many arenas as a number of other posters. I've only seen three of the other arenas currently used for ECAC games - Baker, Lynah, and Starr - and I've only seen Lynah and Starr from the outside.

I can, however, claim to have seen ECAC games in two other arenas - Class of '23 Rink and Schneider Arena - both of those during the 1970's, before Penn abandoned the sport and Providence defected to Hockey East.

Objectively, Class of '23 and Schneider are (or were) probably better places to watch games than the Field House.

However, I can't pretend to be objective. The first hockey game I ever saw was at the RPI Field House (not yet named for Livingston Houston) when my father took me to a game around 1960. And I have many memories, not all of them hockey-related, of the building during the years I was a student. (I'll never forget taking a final exam for a spring semester freshman humanities course on the floor of the Field House - while workers were applying a fresh coat of paint to the concrete steps in the stands. I about passed out from the paint fumes.)

I don't make the trip to Troy very often, but when I do, as soon as I walk through the door of the Field House, I feel that I am home. No other hockey arena will ever give me that feeling. That's why it's always going to be # 1 for me.

 

[rpi82]

Re: RPI & Union @ Brown & Yale (1/29, 1/30)

I have been to Ingalls, Meehan, Bright, TDBank, HFH, Baker, Achilles and Thompson. I understand that 90% of the posters here are RPI fans, but I just don't get the love for HFH. I have said it before, you get a temporary feeling in that building, like someone dropped football stands into a warehouse. The fans have character, the building not so much. And don't get me going on the pillars. Of the 8 buildings I have been in, I would only rank Achilles worse. As a student of building construction, I constantly find my eye wandering to the roof structures in arenas. There is an amazing diversity of roof architecture, with ingalls constantly amazing me. Most of you probably know that the man who designed Ingalls also designed the St. Louis arch. Most of the structures he designed had an arch as his signature. This image is cool. https://dome.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.3/29791/115210_sv.jpg?sequence=2

I like Ingalls and rated it highly on my list. However, it feels as if someone wanted to design a trendy building first and a hockey arena second. To me, HFH is a hockey barn in the most affectionate sense of the term. I associate it with hockey tradition (although I've only been going there 40 of its 60+ years), not architectural awards. In fact, if they could come up with a plan to finish the east end in a manner similar to the west (wrap stands around the corners and build a new press box or, better yet, an elevated bandstand where the stage used to be), I hope it lasts far beyond my lifetime.