Editor's note- Another solid post from our boy tAnonymous. You can read my recap of road venues here but to be honest, tAnonymous' is much more entertaining.
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5 “Arenas Away From Home”
Last season, I made sure to complete my very
ambitious goal of visiting all of the hockey arenas in Hockey East, and there
were a few other trips out of conference as well. I would challenge everyone to
do the same if they really want to understand why college hockey is so great
and why fans around the country are really into the game as well. Jack Parker
Rink at the Agganis Arena is my one true home. Obviously. I figured I’d put that out there in case
anyone had some doubts. In order to
avoid the dreaded BIAS (brought to you by Scott McLaughlin) I decided that it
would be better to let you guys know about some of these other places where
they play college hockey. Honestly, road
trips are one of the best parts about being a sports fan anyway. Win or lose, you get to see the crazy support
(or lack of support) that some schools get, and you are going to make some
great friends in the process. A huge win
on the road is always a fun experience to have under your belt though. As a fan
in enemy territory, you basically are forced to make friends pretty quickly,
and you will hear some pretty ridiculous things thrown back and forth between
fans. BU games are just about always premium games as well, so you’ll at the
very least get to participate in a “chuck-a-puck” contest as a reward for your
dedication.
My sophisticated system of ranking took a lot of factors
into account. Some of the major things I
kept in mind were atmosphere, history, location, seating, sight lines, availability
of alcohol, Zamboni performance, degree of high school vibes one gets from the
rink, and price of tickets.
5.
Matthews Arena (capacity 4,666), Boston MA: So
Northeastern is lucky enough to play in an arena that opened before the sinking
of the Titanic, and it really shows at times. The sight lines from the upper
deck of the arena are atrocious, and I feel bad for both the Dog House and the
House Formerly Known as the Dong House.
Still, if you are a fan of any local Boston team, you should know that
your team probably spent some time here at one point or another. So that’s pretty cool. It’s honestly kind of
watching a hockey game at Fenway (who would do something ridiculous like
that…oh wait), but there is also the added benefit of getting hit with a puck
or empty water bottle from the upper balcony on almost every play of the game. The
concourse has probably the best acoustics I’ve witnessed in a hockey arena so
make sure to get some chants going and piss some people off. I give Northeastern fans some credit too for
standing behind their irrelevant team with bags over their heads and pride in
their hearts, but it’s too bad that there always seems to be a game here when
students are home for spring break. Every BU student should find their way down
Mass Ave to this arena, making sure to buy some beekeepers from the Mass Ave
Tavern on the way(Editor's note: I endorse this message). I’m fairly certain
that tickets barely make it into the double digits, just like their team in the
points column. To any Northeastern fans that might be reading this, I have one
thing to say to you: The “Hey Song” (Rock
and Roll, Part 2) is dumb, unoriginal (See UMass, UMass Lowell, UNH who do the
same exact thing), annoying, and you are better than that. According to a
reliable source, Gary Glitter, the creator of the song, was arrested for kiddie
porn. Come on. Get a new goal song/cheer (See Zombie Nation or any other song
affiliated with the city of Boston).
4.
Ralph Engelstad Arena (capacity 11,643),
Grand Forks ND: Going to North Dakota any time soon? No? Well you should
really make sure to stop by this arena at least one time in your lifetime. Then you should make sure to never go back to
the state of North Dakota again. There
are some pretty amazing college hockey rinks out west, and it’s amazing the
kind of atmosphere you can get at a college hockey game when there is nothing
else to do for the next 300 miles in all directions. In all serious though, going out to the
middle of nowhere for 2 hockey games is a lot more fun than it might
sound. At “the Ralph”, you’ll get to sit
in premium quality seats no matter where you are in the arena. Just make sure to watch out for the fireworks
that go off after every goal for the (team name removed because it is
racist). I can basically guarantee that
all of the 11,000+ seats will be filled(Editor's note: unless it's the first day of hunting season) with fans who occasionally
clap/silent-chant in unison. The student section is basically a huge party from
what I could tell, and I’m still not sure if they actually watch the game at
all. At the end of the day, the alumni
are what really make this experience worthwhile. There are some of the most
knowledgeable fans around when it comes to knowing the college game and its
intricacies, but you should probably stay away from conversations about
religion, politics, and the fact that Ralph Engelstad was a Nazi
supporter. If you get a kick out of
intolerance and ignorant rants, then you can just ignore that last part and go
for it. “Chelsea Dagger” is a gem of a goal song, and it must be appreciated
likewise. Anyway, the price of travel and $40 tickets might steer you away from
the (team name removed because it’s still racist), but definitely go if you can
afford it.
