Alaska Trip, 1/7/11 - 1/15/11

College Puck Fan is going to Alaska in 2011. Alaska-Fairbanks will play a weekend set against Western Michigan on January 7th & 8th. A few days later I'm headed south to see Alaska-Anchorage play two games against Colorado College on January 14th & 15th. Next post to come from Alaska and its bone-chilling cold in the new year.

CPF

Maine vs. New Hampshire, 12/10/10

Alfond Arena

I don't even know how to describe it. It was one of the greatest hockey games I have ever had the privilege of attending.

I remember since I was 5 years old, I wanted to play college hockey for the University of Maine. After the Black Bears won the '93 National Championship, I always followed the team and rooted for them every year they were in the NCAA tournament. When it dawned on me that the prospect of playing hockey at Maine was out of my reach, I also realized that my academic goals and Maine's academic offerings did not quite match up. But I still held a soft spot for the school. In the 8 games I had been to so far this season, this was the first where I committed the Cardinal Sin of sports journalism...I rooted for the home team.

I got in the car around 11 a.m. and hoped to get up to Orono with enough daylight left to see the campus. Yet by 4:00 I was still en route and darkness had engulfed Vacationland. I was out of luck and out of light. However, what greeted me when I arrived made up for my botched plans. 

I pulled into the Harold Alfond Sports Arena at about 5:45 and spotted a mass of undergrads waiting to get in. There were at least 2,000 people outside, in the 16 degree weather, having the time of their lives. There was music playing, beer cans flying, and UMaine chants to the tune of the "O-lay" soccer chant. This was a great atmosphere. I can only compare it to Cornell. These students loved their Black Bears. 

The Maine band

Finally they let us in the arena. With my toes, ears, and nose slowly regaining feeling, I took in the one cathedral I had dreamed about since I was kid. "I made it," I said to myself. Albeit as a spectator rather than a player, it still felt great to finally see where Maine hockey makes its home. Alfond Arena was built in 1977, holds 5,641 people for hockey and 5,712 people for basketball. The building felt cramped, but made for a bandbox-type setting. It got really loud.

I managed to get a seat at the blueline about 7 rows up. It was a great seat however the top of the glass did obscure my view a little bit. The sellout crowd also crammed the concourse making bathroom breaks and snack bar trips quite frustrating. 

Maine's Brian Flynn '12 and UNH Captain Mike Sislo '11

Corporate sponsors galore. Every part of the boards, every skybox, and ice had sponsors all over it. But for some reason I didn't feel like it ruined the atmosphere. I guess that's how a sellout can change your perspective. And yes, a hockey game was eventually played. 

The atmosphere was ecstatic. The band set the tempo and the student section did all it could to make UNH feel unwelcome. The students sat on a porch that basically hung over the UNH goal. They were right on top of the Wildcats and taunting them with such classics as "SIEVE SIEVE SIEVE" and "OVERRATED". 

The Black Bears are out of the cage.

New Hampshire's Paul Thompson '11 opened the scoring on the Power Play a little over 5 minutes in. Maine's Robby Dee '11 found a loose puck in the slot and tied the game a minute later. The way the 2nd period started set the tone for the rest of the game. Hobey Baker prospect Gustav Nyquist '12 skated in on a breakaway to start the 2nd and displayed incredible patience with the puck before flipping it in the top left corner over goalie Matt DiGirolamo '12.

Nyquist is a sniper in every sense of the word. He lurks on the ice, often waiting for the perfect moment strike. In an instant, he can turn on the jets or find the incredible pass through a maze of skates and sticks. He's stealthy, never trying too hard, but also not fooling around out there. He's not the best in his own zone, but when the Swede turns it on, he turns it on full notch. Simply, when Nyquist went out on the ice, all 11,282 eyeballs in Alfond Arena went with him. He's a special player. 

Gustav Nyquist '12 potted a goal and an assist.

With the Black Bears leading 3-1 after 2 periods, it looked like this game was over. But one should never count out the number 3 ranked team in the country. UNH came out hard, tying the game at 3 with only 18.3 seconds remaining. The ensuing silence was only broken by the horn signaling the end of the 3rd period. Overtime next. I couldn't take it anymore, I put down my camera and notepad and took in everything this hockey game had to offer. I became a fan. 

8th ranked Maine attacked the Wildcats from the onset of the OT period until a quick rush by UNH 1:26 in broke every heart in Alfond arena. Freshman Jeff Silengo was the hero tonight, finding a loose puck in the slot to win it for the Wildcats. 4-3 the final, New Hampshire comes back to beat Maine in one of the greatest hockey games I have ever been to.

Like I said, I don't know how else to describe it.

CPF

Providence vs. Maine, 12/4/10

Schneider Arena

My first Hockey East game of the year was unlike any other game I had been to. When I arrived at Schneider Arena, I felt like I was at an NHL game. Maybe that's pushing it a little bit. But everything about the place felt professional, it just didn't have that college feel.

Schneider Arena was built in 1973, holds 3,030 fans, and has a seating pattern that rings around the entire ice surface. It was built during a time when utilitarian baseball/football stadiums were popular and if I had to categorize it, Schneider Arena is a cookie-cutter hockey arena. Taking nothing away from it, it is a great arena, but it scores lower on the character scale. It scores high in lighting, seating arrangement, and the game programs were printed on glossy paper, a luxury in the college hockey world.

The tunnel

The Friars came out of a tunnel, complete with smoke and laser lights. Boston Bruins anthem singer Rene Rancourt walked out to center ice and sang both Canadian and American national anthems. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I noticed there was no band in sight. 

Rene Rancourt

Ok, call me a traditionalist with a low key, Ivy League take on things. Providence had an excellent pre-game presentation. The tunnel, lights turned down, spotlight on the starting lineup; all of it I liked. But does this belong in college hockey? Providence can run it's hockey games anyway it pleases and the way they do it does make for a great atmosphere. But is this fanfare making the game better or morphing it with the pros? Where I come out on the issue is the reason college hockey is great is because the players are playing for the love of the game. 

Providence defenseman Eric Baier '11

You have schools hundreds of years old, thousands of alumni, and rivalries that mean more than just the score at the end; they are deeper. This is why the Olympics are great. What you represent when you play for your school or country is something that you cannot put a monetary value next to. It is above the money. I digress, what I am simply trying to say is that college hockey should just play its game and not try to imitate the pros. If you don't agree with me, watch the NHL. 

Maine defenseman Mike Banwell '11

Apologies for my rant. After all this, a hockey game was played. Maine's Joey Diamond '13 opened the scoring a little over halfway through the 1st period. The teams traded scoring chances for the rest of the 1st and most of the 2nd until Maine junior Spencer Abbott put the Black Bears up by two with a beautiful backhand to forehand deke to flip the puck over Providence goalie Alex Beaudry '12.

Providence goalie Alex Beaudry '12

Whatever the Friars had left for the 3rd period, they left in the locker room. Maine came out and quickly scored again just 38 seconds in. Swede Gustav Nyquist found a loose puck in front and quickly popped it in the top corner. It was all downhill from there, Maine dominated the rest of the game. It looked at times as if the Black Bears were toying with the Friars, behind the back passes, dekes off skates, laughing after goals. I felt a little bad for Providence, they were definitely in the game for the first 2 periods. 

Swedish sniper Gustav Nyquist '12

When the buzzer sounded, the Black Bears had mauled the Friars 5-0. It certainly must have made the bus trip back to Orono easier to get though. This Maine team was simply the better horse, er bear. Up next is Maine/New Hampshire in Orono on 12/10.

CPF

Brown vs. RPI, 12/4/10

George V. Meehan Auditorium

When trying to figure out the schedule for which Saturday game I would go to, I saw Brown and Providence College playing at 4 and 7 respectively and decided to have a 2 game trip. I got in the car and headed up to Providence without even thinking I had been in Boston earlier in the week, New Jersey the day before, now Providence on Saturday. Yes, I am undoubtedly hooked.

Meehan Auditorium holds 3,059 spectators, has good sightlines, and an aesthetically pleasing doomed roof. George Meehan was the arena's main benefactor and hoped it would service and promote the Brown Bears hockey program, which became the first school with a Women's hockey team in 1964. The building underwent a $4.3 million renovation in 2002 that included new locker rooms, increased capacity, and new dasher boards. The place looks great.

I arrived in College Hill about half an hour before game time. I had been to Meehan before, but not in years. When I got to my seat, my eye was immediately attracted to the doomed roof. Almost an identical twin to the Pittsburgh Penguins old Mellon Arena (the Igloo). Coincidentally the two were opened in the same year, 1961.

Brown Captain Harry Zolnierczyk '11

There were corporate sponsors everywhere. The boards were covered, the program was basically an advertising catalogue. To be fair, it was free. This did not ruin the experience in any way, if you have been to Meehan you know its quite a remarkable building to sit in. But it was just something I noticed.

The Brown band came to the game and played the Canadian national anthem. Its American counterpart was sung by a Brown music student. Finally, it was time to drop the puck. 

RPI defenseman Guy Leboeuf '14

Brown came out flying, perhaps too aggressive and took a couple penalties. RPI hit pay dirt first a little over midway through the 1st period, Tyler Helfrich '11 scoring on the Power Play. At the 5:11 mark of the 2nd period and 3 goals later, Brown goalie Mike Clemente '12 was yanked in favor of Anthony Borelli '13. Clemente wasn't playing poorly, RPI seemed to strike when you would least expect it. Brown was playing better, taking more shots, just not scoring. The switch seemed to turn around the Bears fortunes with Jack Maclellan '12 putting Brown on the board at 8:38 of the 2nd. 

Brown goalie Mike Clemente '12 was pulled in the 2nd.

Brown junior Mike Wolff cut the Engineers lead to 2 when he scored at 2:33 of the 3rd frame. The momentum from then on was all Brown. The Bears assaulted RPI with 18 shots in the final period but could never beat goalie Allen York '12. Late goals by Greg Burgdoerfer '13 and Pat Koudys '14 sealed Brown's fate. RPI wins 6-2. 

RPI leading scorer Chase Polacek '11

The scoreboard showed an RPI victory, yet they were not the better team today. Brown outplayed them, had more shots, and controlled the tempo of the game. But when you least expected it, the Engineers would score, slowly building their lead. Those are sometimes the most dangerous teams, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Who knew a team with an anthropomorphized puck as their mascot could be capable? 

CPF

Princeton vs. Clarkson, 12/3/10

Hobey Baker Rink

If you wish to experience a hockey game as if it were 1922, all you must do is make the pilgrimage to Hobey Baker Rink at Princeton. Reminding me only of Northeastern's Matthews Arena, Baker Rink is truly one of hockey's holy grails. The steel and rivet supports, the old style lighting, and stone walls took me back to the time of the game's beginnings. What a great atmosphere.

The rink was built in 1922, holds 2,092 fans, and is dedicated to Hobart Amory Hare Baker, Princeton Class of 1914. Baker was once called the greatest amateur hockey player in both America and Canada. He was ahead of his time, playing both football and hockey during his tenure at Princeton, while also majoring in history, politics, and economics. When he graduated in the spring of '14, he had compiled a record of 20 wins and 7 losses for the hockey team. However his record on the gridiron was more impressive, a school record 20 wins, 3 losses, and 4 ties. These were unheard of feats during his time. He never lost to Yale in football either. Did I mention he did this in only 3 years?

Hobey Baker '14

Before the teams skated out for the national anthems, (Princeton played both, I assume due to Clarkson's close proximity to our northern neighbors) I noticed Clarkson goalie Paul Karpowich '12 wait for Princeton to take the ice first. This is something I remember from my prep school hockey days. It was sign of mutual respect, let the home team take its ice first. I applaud Karpowich.

There were a few corporate sponsors on the arena walls (PNC bank for example), but at the same time not overdone. Princeton shouldn't put up any sponsors in this rink, it would be as if Yankee Stadium was renamed PNC Stadium. It just isn't right to spoil any of Baker Rink's flavor.

Princeton Goalie Mike Condon '13

I managed to secure a seat along a blueline on the top row of the seating bowl. It's better than it sounds because there are only 5 rows. My seat had its pros and cons. Close to the ice, but the glass made photography a problem. The Princeton Band made an appearance, but didn't play the national anthems. Perhaps the one negative of the whole experience.

Princeton Captain Taylor Fedun '11

The Tigers opened the scoring with Eric Meland '13 jamming in a puck in front a little over halfway through the 1st. Clarkson's Nik Pokulok '13 responded just 13 seconds later with a slapshot from the point to make it 1-1. The Golden Knights went on the score 3 more unanswered goals during a fast paced 2nd period. Princeton was able to respond towards the end of the 2nd, Rob Kleebaum '13 bringing the Tigers within 2. 

Clarkson's Allan McPherson '14 and Princeton's Kevin Ross '14

The comeback effort was extended by senior captain Taylor Fedun who scored on a beautiful top-shelf snap shot from the point. The Edmonton native's goal gave the Tigers hope and caused Clarkson to get more aggressive in its defensive zone. The Golden Knights gave Princeton an early Christmas present, 10 Power Plays. The Tigers however never capitalized in the final minutes and Clarkson iced the game 5-3 with an empty netter by Scott Freeman '11.

Clarkson's Brandon DeFazio '11

This was a great hockey game. The pace was furious and the crowd was electric, a near sellout. Unlike Harvard, I had to journey back to Connecticut after the game. As I finish this entry and head to bed, I am grateful I was able to take in a hockey game at one of the sport's great venues. Next up is Brown/RPI and Providence/Maine tomorrow in Rhode Island. 

CPF