Stadium and Arena Visits

Ahhh, March in the Northeast…always a fickle time. This trip started by waiting for traffic enhanced by snow to ease up before making the drive to Springfield, MA. My plan was to spend most of the day at the Springfield Museums, but the delay meant it wasn’t worth spending the $25 for the 5 museums when I would only have time for one. So I went to the Armory, a former facility nationally run and historic in longevity. It’s interesting if you’re into that stuff, which I am not as I can’t find appeal in guns and weaponry given their purpose. From there, I walked to the MassMutual Center for outdoor pictures. I found the city to be quite grumpy as many were not all that welcoming (outside of anyone attracting customers). After a frustrating encounter with team staff, I walked around nearby Court Square, which features some pretty cool architecture. There was a bit of time to kill and the very recent opening of the MGM Casino a few blocks down was perfect for that. They actually fulfilled my historical needs as an interactive display gave a great overview of the city.

Puck drop was 7:05 PM and Hartford took on fellow cellar-dwellers Springfield. It may be a historic AHL city, but looking past their 7 Calder Cups, you see just three playoff appearances in the last 18 years. However, the impact the Thunderbirds have had is big as their replacing of the Falcons a few years back led to a complete overall of how hockey would be done and fans responded. On this night, the building was 60-65% full and the home side thrilled with a 5-1 thrashing. Renovations have done this 1970s-arena well as side rooms for a bar and a grill helped to add space to an otherwise crowded concourse. Inside, is an oval seating bowl that is subtly great for hockey. Excellent sightlines from seats that are angled very nicely throughout the building.

The next morning featured a steady light snow as I stayed in to catch up on work remotely. Roads were fine as I made the 20-minute drive back to Springfield. Those looking to spend time in the city, there are the aforementioned attractions, while the biggest one is the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is close to downtown. It is pretty awesome and I’ve been there a few times. The reason I went back this afternoon was for some college hockey as American International College (AIC) started playing here recently instead of the municipal rink in West Springfield (the Olympia Ice Center). That one may have been dinky, this one is much too large. AIC is second-lowest in NCAA attendance and around 500 people came out for the last home game of the year. The folks on hand did a respectable job cheering their boys on and there was a little pep in the building, which I did not expect. The Yellow Jackets responded with a 4-1 win that clinched the Atlantic Hockey Regular-Season crown for the first time in their long-suffering history. While being off-campus is a disadvantage, the MassMutual Center has way better amenities, hence the move and why their opponent Sacred Heart did the same thing a few years ago by taking up shop in Bridgeport’s arena.

Immediately after the final whistle, I got on I-91, an Interstate that I became quite familiar with the last few days. It’s only 30 minutes to Hartford and the suburbs is where the University is located. The Hawks play out of Chase Family Arena, a disjointed gym with lots of exposed interior material. Seating is not comfortable either as the shallow-rising side sections feature poorly-constructed chairs. They are loosely connected, so whenever someone leans back, you feel it and after awhile, it’s like you are on a ride. Thankfully, the game more than made up for the arena and so did the fans. It was Senior Day and the Hawks found themselves behind, down 16 at the half. They came out firing in the 2nd, starting on a 10-0 run. It was a fascinating contest as Hartford couldn’t quite over the hump, yet they managed to tie the game in the final two minutes. They had a chance to win and a desperation tap out led to a long heave at the buzzer that agonizingly hit the back rim, bounced high up and hit the rim again before falling out. The crowd did a double gasp in case it dropped (as did I, apologies for the orgasmic noises). Despite poor local support, the fans that were there, were great through the game. I really was impressed by their enthusiasm and volume. Did not expect that from a team averaging a crowd less than 1,000 and it was a pleasant surprise. In OT, Hartford took control and they got the big win 82-80. I thought the players were so well-poised and controlled during their comeback, especially senior leaders J.R. Lynch and George Blagojevic. I also liked their 9-year coach: John Gallagher. He got on the mic after the game imploring fans for their support on Tuesday as they have a chance at the 2 seed in the conference tournament. He also was genuine and embraced each graduating player and their families during Senior Day festivities with true care. The Hawks have never been to the NCAA Tournament and after this game, I think I found the team I want to win the America East Playoffs.

After three minor snow events in four days, it was nice to get a break here in the Northeast and the weather relaxed enough for me to take a jolt up to Boston for a sports doubleheader. The four-hour drive went super fast thanks to another entertaining pod from “Something to Wrestle With” as I thoroughly enjoyed the Jake The Snake episode. There were about six things that I tried to remember to search YouTube for later that night in the hotel. Before I knew it, I reached Chestnut Hill after about 10 minutes of navigating the twisty roads that randomly branch off in the area. This was my second visit to this beautiful campus and since I did all the touring during the football trip a few months ago, I went right to the arena for the game. Conte Forum has been home to both Boston College basketball and hockey since 1988. The multi-purpose venue displays school character quite well with maroon and gold all around and a mighty impressive trophy case highlighted by a bronze eagle. For basketball, the seating bowl isn’t as great as others in the conference since corners have poorer sightlines given that the building needs to support hockey. Also, the top-half of the seating is uncomfortable bucket bleachers. At least the views are good with an adequate pitch between each row. BC came in to this contest against Notre Dame at 1-4 in the conference, yet they put up a good fight and this was an entertaining affair. The Irish pulled through in the end 79-73 and watching them in person, I remember that I’ve always enjoyed the style and way that Mike Brey’s teams play. My BC takeaway is that Kyle Bowman is a selfish player constantly looking for his shot and I’m guessing he takes half-a-dozen bad ones per game. There was a good crowd that turned up for this one and we were treated to a student rendition of Mr Brightside, an enjoyable BC tradition.

Getting out of the Commonwealth Garage on campus was a nightmare and it took me 30 minutes just to get out of BC. I’m glad that I didn’t go with the original plan and see UNH hockey in the evening as time-wise, it would’ve been way too close for comfort. Instead, I traveled over to nearby Waltham, for an off-List game at Bentley University. Before that, I walked down Moody Street in this city nicknamed for their Watch production history. Originally, I planned to eat in the Deli at Moody’s, but the place turns into a reservation-only dinner at night, so I settled on Bison County, which was a good alternative. The school just opened Bentley Arena last year as decades of playing at a municipal rink a town over finally ended. It is a terrific facility that has wonderful, energy-saving technological advances. The color-scheme is quite sharp and everything about the building is sleek. They only built it for 2,000 seats, so the bowl features just 6-7 rows around the rink. It is steep, but with so few rows, only the top couple have an obstructed view without glass partitions / seating angle inevitably getting in the way. Attendance is certainly better at the new place, however the student turnout was disappointing as the “Top Shelf” section sat mostly empty with less than 100 on hand, half of them just playing on their phones. The atmosphere was odd because when the crowd popped for a goal, the celebration from the fans lasted 10 seconds. As for the game, it was dull and clutzy with players seemingly falling over themselves. Bentley won their ninth in a row over Air Force 4-0. Fun Fact: This was the first matchup where each team had the same nickname (Falcons).

It’s been a very cold and snowy start to the winter here in the East, so I felt fortunate to squeeze this trip in as it is rare to get a schedule to cooperate for two games in the Lake Effect Snowbelt. My drive up to Rochester was uneventful and timing couldn’t have been more perfect as I arrived at RIT’s Gene Polisseni Center right as the gates opened at 5:30 PM. That gave me plenty of time to take a tour at this beautiful facility built in 2014. The entrance is my favorite part of the arena as you enter into an atrium at ice-level that is accented by orange walls and a holographic-like Hall of Fame display. Given that this is the Rochester Institute of Technology, it was cool that they showed their stuff by having a pretty neat Virtual Reality experience. Upstairs, the area above the seating allows more room to walk around, view displays, get food or use the standing rail to watch the game. It’s probably one of the best concourse set-ups I’ve seen for a small hockey arena. The bowl itself rounds the rink in standard fashion and it is adequate, though the seats are a little tight. 

The most enjoyable part of the arena experience is the Corner Crew, RIT’s student section. While the rest of the crowd was surprisingly sparse and quiet, these guys and gals in Section 118 made their presence known. They were full of chants and choreographed cheers with my favorites being their rendition of “Happy And You Know It”. Their arm-bopping to “Jump Around” was great too. I got to see their post-goal traditions three times and it involves a siren, bell and “We want _#, It’s all your fault”. I’ll have some videos up on YouTube after the official review. The section doesn’t quite reach the level I saw at Michigan last year, but RIT has a noteworthy solid group nonetheless. The action on the ice was great as Sacred Heart went back and forth with the Tigers. RIT’s goals were quite entertaining, while the Pioneers were quite fortunate. They had a fluky goal in the 2nd period that came from a hot rebound off the backboards. After RIT lost the lead in the 3rd, the game went to OT and with less than 10 seconds to play, Sacred Heart was the benefactor of a bouncing puck that hopped into the air, bounced around, and eventually landed on the goalie’s back, where it barely fell over the goal line. Rough loss for RIT, though Sacred Heart did carry most of the play in the final 25 minutes.

The next day, I briefly stopped back at RIT to get some outdoor arena pictures (never fun with bare hands when it’s 25 degrees) and then made the drive to Olean. Similar to my last trip in 2002, I ran into light snow as I got into the Allegheny Mountains. This thankfully didn’t stick to the roads, but it made for a classic Winter background as I reached Saint Bonaventure. The setting may be pretty, but this is a campus that looks like it is stuck in the 1970s and the generally dull brick buildings don’t help with appearances, though a few statues add unique elements. The Reilly Center has a similar vibe with occasional wood-paneling and white-tile ceiling. It is an especially funky building with its numerous hallways and corridors that lead to many non-basketball things. It’s not everyday that you see a post office, a bookstore, a cafeteria and a replica of the Declaration of Independence all in the same building that houses a sports arena. Inside, it’s a simple facility with sideline seating that is broken up twice by a walkway. On the ends, there are small bleachers that contain students and the pep band before quickly reaching a wall. I was particularly interested by the seats that seemed original based on the wooden armrests and the unique cushions, that were quite comfortable.

Saint Bonaventure has always been regarded as a tough place to play and the Reilly Center was absolutely rocking for this one. Buffalo was in town and they came in undefeated and ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in their history. The Bulls showed why as they ran over the Bonnies, dominating from start to finish in an 80-62 win. Yet, it was the fans I noticed the most as they are so loud and into it. The place went bonkers when the Bonnies cut the lead to 15 (that’s 15!) as people got on their feet trying rally them on. The students were crazy loud, but they were also out of line and exceptionally vulgar. Just before the teams came out, they chanted “F*#& UB”. Thankfully, they didn’t do that during the game, but c’mon it’s a Saturday Afternoon and there were plenty of kids on hand. The rest of the way, the group chants were acceptable (I’m ok with “You Are Ug-ly”), but there were a few individual shouts that crossed the line. I loved the passion and volume of the Reilly Center, but occasionally cringed at the student section, especially from a school that preaches Franciscan Values.