Best College Rinks to Visit

[KasparsHipCheck]

Hello,

I'm a huge hockey fan, that will go to any type of game. I live in Upstate NY, so I have access to a lot of ECAC/HE places. I'd like to be able to take some road trips (hopefully next year) to see some great hockey, being played in barns with character. I'd love to know what some of the better rivalries are to try and get tickets to--this applies to both the Men's and Women's game.

Please share your favorite places and info on best rivalry game to see. I'd love to hear it and eventually get to some of the places.

Thanks.

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[Barclay Donaldson]

Hello,

I'm a huge hockey fan, that will go to any type of game. I live in Upstate NY, so I have access to a lot of ECAC/HE places. I'd like to be able to take some road trips (hopefully next year) to see some great hockey, being played in barns with character. I'd love to know what some of the better rivalries are to try and get tickets to--this applies to both the Men's and Women's game.

Please share your favorite places and info on best rivalry game to see. I'd love to hear it and eventually get to some of the places.

Thanks.

Outside of your upstate New York area:
Yost Arena - University of Michigan
Matthews Arena - Northeastern University
Mullins Center - University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Tsongas Center - University of Massachusetts-Lowell
Gutterson Fieldhouse - University of Vermont
Ralph Engelstad Arena - University of North Dakota

 

[JMCx4]

Based on @Barclay Donaldson's apparent selection criteria above, I'd add Agganis Arena @ Boston U. Intimate surroundings & a great game atmosphere, if not very barn-like.

If you're up for a longer drive (or fly) some day, here are my Midwest favorites listed in order with more links to photos in my Flickr collection. Like Yost in Michigan & The Ralph in North Dakota, they aren't the traditional "old barn" facilities available widely in the Northeast. But all are memorable places with "character" to watch hockey:

• Compton Family Arena - University of Notre Dame
• Kohl Center - University of Wisconsin-Madison
• And if you're @ UW-M, schedule another afternoon/night to watch the Lady Badgers play next door in LaBahn Arena.
• And with an unapologetic plug for my hometown facility, the year-old Centene Community Ice Center's USA Arena is a comfy place to watch the DI Lindenwood Lady Lions play.

I recommend you check out the Roaming The Rinks website as well, for a LOT more ideas on hockey-watching destinations. Happy & safe travels!

.

 

[KasparsHipCheck]

Based on @Barclay Donaldson's apparent selection criteria above, I'd add Agganis Arena @ Boston U. Intimate surroundings & a great game atmosphere, if not very barn-like.

If you're up for a longer drive (or fly) some day, here are my Midwest favorites listed in order with more links to photos in my Flickr collection. Like Yost in Michigan & The Ralph in North Dakota, they aren't the traditional "old barn" facilities available widely in the Northeast. But all are memorable places with "character" to watch hockey:

• Compton Family Arena - University of Notre Dame
• Kohl Center - University of Wisconsin-Madison
• And if you're @ UW-M, schedule another afternoon/night to watch the Lady Badgers play next door in LaBahn Arena.
• And with an unapologetic plug for my hometown facility, the year-old Centene Community Ice Center's USA Arena is a comfy place to watch the DI Lindenwood Lady Lions play.

I recommend you check out the Roaming The Rinks website as well, for a LOT more ideas on hockey-watching destinations. Happy & safe travels!

.

Thanks for the link to photos on Flickr. Compton Family Arena looks perfect, as do LaBahn and Centene Community Ice Center's USA Arena.
I know I have to also check out Matthew's Arena. Such amazing places. I love college and AHL level hockey played in small/old places. These are the places where you can sit in the very last row, way at the top and have an awesome vantage point of the whole ice. Plus with College there's a band and some crazy students. I love the game and all the surrounding energy. It's so good.

 

[JMCx4]

Thanks for the link to photos on Flickr. Compton Family Arena looks perfect, as do LaBahn and Centene Community Ice Center's USA Arena.
I know I have to also check out Matthew's Arena. Such amazing places. I love college and AHL level hockey played in small/old places. These are the places where you can sit in the very last row, way at the top and have an awesome vantage point of the whole ice. Plus with College there's a band and some crazy students. I love the game and all the surrounding energy. It's so good.

Rarely a band @ Centene (they're usually at a campus basketball game). But the dueling pep bands at the men's 2007 Frozen Four in St. Louis hooked me as a college hockey fan, and BU's band @ Agganis worked the same magic on my wife years later. It's a treat to hear the live music vs. piped-in noise.

As for the student sections, I've been impressed with some (Notre Dame leaps to mind) and disgusted by others (Miami-Ohio's student body routine of turning their backs when the visiting team lineup is announced). But the latter reminds me: Miami-OH Goggin Ice Center's Cady Arena meets your criteria for vantage points as a fan - IF you can get a ticket to sit at the top of the single tier bowl.

 

[MiamiHockey]

I'm a big fan of watching hockey in old rinks with character.
1) Tate Rink at West Point for the annual Army-RMC game. The rink is okay, but it's location is what sets it apart.
2) Playland Ice Casino for Manhattanville Div III. You'll be one of about 50 fans there, but the rink defies description with its location, odd dimensions, and wooden dasherboards.
3) Varsity Arena in Toronto (University of Toronto). It is nearly 100 years old and essentially unchanged from when it opened.
4) Mattamy Arena in Toronto (Ryerson University). They took the old Maple Leaf Gardens, turned it into an athletic centre, and put a hockey rink at the top with the old gardens roof intact. Spectacular.

 

[AUS Fan]

I've been to BU and UMASS Lowell, both nice rinks. I like Maine for the student band and student section. I've been to Varsity a few times also.

 

[Lakeheadfan95]

Im definitely bias but fort william gardens in thunder bay its an old building and is usually pretty tough to play in

 

[Dakota Sioux]

We call the Ralph in Grand Forks the Palace on the Prairie and it truly is. Simply beautiful