March 17, 2018
Herb Brooks Arena (Capacity: 7,700)
Lake Placid, NY
Clarkson Golden Knights vs Princeton Tigers
Final Score: 1 – 2 (OT)
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Do you believe in miracles? Yes! This tiny resort village of 2,500 in the middle of New York’s Adirondack Mountains is the location of two Winter Olympics: 1932 and 1980. The former was highlighted by Sonja Henie’s second of three consecutive gold medals in Figure Skating while in 1980, Eric Heiden won 5 Speed Skating Golds. That year also featured one of the greatest moments in sports as the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team upset the USSR and went on to win the championship two days later. The arena that it happened in still stands and after being called the Olympic Center, it was renamed after the coach who led the U.S. to victory. Thankfully, this historic facility hosts hockey and for the last five years, it has been the home for the semifinals and finals of Division I Hockey’s ECAC Conference Tournament. The winner gets a place in the NCAA Tournament and Cornell has a league-high 12 titles with Harvard a close second at 10. Definitely take advantage of watching hockey in this famous arena as the area is amazing to visit.
Prestige Ranking: 5 out of 5
Location
The location is breathtaking and idyllic as the scenery is spectacular. Tourism is big in this area and it is easy to see why so many come to enjoy the outdoors. The surrounding area is a haven for outdoor recreation enthusiasts, including those looking to ski at Whiteface Mountain 15 minutes away. Olympic attractions are aplenty with venue tours available for the Bobsled/Luge Track, the Ski Jump Complex and the outdoor Speed Skating Oval. We had time for the Ski Jump and enjoyed a remarkable view from the top. Back in the village, the charming Main Street features a backdrop of Mountains and frozen Mirror Lake. Dozens of shops and restaurants make Lake Placid an ideal place to host a tournament. Just make sure to get a reservation or eat well before puck drop if you choose to dine before the game starts (over an hour wait greeted us at Smoke Signals). Adjacent to the skating oval in town is the Olympic Center and it includes a conference center and three rinks: the 1980 arena, the one used at the 1932 games (Jack Shea Arena) and the small USA Rink. In addition, the lower-level of the Center has an Olympic Museum. Small, but a worthy place to spend an hour thanks to memorabilia and several exhibits.
Location Ranking: 10 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
What makes Lake Placid’s location so great makes it equally as difficult to get to. Any route from the west is a long and arduous as questionable country roads are frequently needed with weather that is often challenging. From other directions, I-87 (the Northway) is the main highway needed to reach Route 73, which will take drivers on a winding 40-minute journey that should only be done during the day unless one is used to these roads. Watch out for changing weather conditions and we were lucky to just deal with blowing snow during our trip. In town, it is very busy, so go slow and watch for pedestrians. Parking is borderline impossible as small, municipal lots seem to be filled just after the crack of dawn. I did see a few signs for shuttles and satellite lots, but I don’t know if they got full. This is one of the few stadiums I visited where parking did not seem realistic. We opted for a hotel right in the town & walked to the game, which I highly recommend for anyone making the trip.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 2.5 out of 8
Exterior
The Olympic Center is made up of a mish-mash of differing architectural styles since the whole thing was pieced together over many decades. Let’s start from right to left, beginning on the side closest to the town center. This newer section is the Conference Center and it is made up of stone with a mountain resort look thanks to the balconies and extending support beams. In the middle, we have the 1932 rink, which is distinctive in appearance by the Olympic Rings at the top. This building is a very nice brick with many windows across the flat face. Finally, all the way to the left is the exterior for the 1980 arena. Not as distinguishable as the others, this third piece faces the skating oval as most fans from Main Street only have a look at the connecting walkway. The arena entrance and box office is underneath. It is a white, generic building and if you get a chance to see it from the skating oval, there are plenty of beams spouting off from the south wall. The Olympic Center is a complex, disjointed series of buildings and I certainly was fooled into thinking that the brick ’32 rink was the outside of Herb Brooks Arena.
Exterior Ranking: 4 out of 10
Concourse
Ticket takers don’t begin until the top of the stairs from the ground-level entrance, so this can lead to a slow-moving line on those stairs before the game. The connecting corridors between the three ice sheets offer some breathing room from the very congested interior of the 1980 arena, where the tight concourse can be found behind the upper part of the main bowl. Protruding staircases and food carts make navigating the walkways a chore. Plan bathroom and food trips accordingly as long lines will extend beyond the intermission if you don’t make it quick enough. At least on one side, there are windows to look out with the scenic view below, plus the back of the upper seating has a classy sign welcoming fans to the famous arena.
Concourse Ranking: 2 out of 5
Food
I found signage for food to be lacking big time as a few stands had visible items (popcorn, pretzels), but no sign for what was offered and the price. Where signs existed, they were small and hard to see between people. I wasn’t missing much as only a generic assortment of glorified snacks could be found. Alcohol is served at the arena.
Food Ranking: 1.5 out of 8
Interior
Inside the arena is a lower seating bowl that goes around the rink with each corner angled as opposed to rounded. Seats are all red and of average width and a pitch that is adequate. They are plastic and do not have cup holders. About 13-15 rows comprise the lower bowl. Where the 1980 rink gets its added capacity is an upper-deck that slightly hangs over the last few rows of the section below. Normally, I love upper-seating, but these were horrible. A railing obstructs the view of nearly every seat, err, wooden bleacher. That seating structure makes it even worse because the bleacher is low and you have to go to the top (6th) row for an unobstructed view. I’m not sure if this part of the arena was renovated heavily after the games, but it is not good and definitely an area to avoid. There are no suites in the arena, as there shouldn’t be.
Interior Ranking: 6 out of 14
Scoreboard
The year before our visit, they took down the original scoreboard from the 1980 Games. Sad, because that board was so famous: from the final score, to the clock ticking to zero shown on the ABC telecast. But it was time and with the arena continuing to host a yearly big college event, the new videoboard was inevitable. It is mainly comprised of four video screens and while it looks really good, the size is smaller than other comparable arenas. Plus, I don’t like how there is not a separate section for time/score as that information is displayed at the bottom of the video feed and it is really small. I had difficulty finding the clock at times and frustratingly went on to look for the time on the display behind each net. Around the top of the scoreboard is a circular display for “Lake Placid Olympic Center – 1980 Rink – Herb Brooks Arena”.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2.5 out of 4
Displays
In addition to the Olympic Museum, which is housed in the building, the Olympic Center goes above and beyond in displaying the storied history at the facility. Before entering, fans will see the flags of many countries between the arena and outdoor skating rink. Some of these flags can be spotted in the concourse too. Throughout the connecting hallways in the Center, display cases can be found on many walls. My favorite is the listing of all the Medal winners for both the ’32 and ’80 games. The pictures all around are fantastic too. Near the Jack Shea Arena is a Lake Placid Hall of Fame, which is inclusive to both athletes and locals that did work for the community. If you get to the Center on a tour well before game-time you’ll see the door to the arena closed and this presents a wonderful photo op with a photograph showing the US right after the Soviet win. Above the doors: “Home of the Miracle on Ice: Site of the Greatest Sporting Event of the 20th Century”. Inside, blue banners above each upper-level seating section have the name and number for every player on that US roster. As awesome as the Olympic stuff is, they also do a great job here of honoring the ECAC. Temporary team signs and displays are added around the arena and there is a whole wall with detailed Championship game history. Team banners hang around the scoreboard. The rafters also has one of the coolest displays I’ve ever seen. Each school has a jersey hanging with their colors and logo and underneath are the years that they were tournament champions.
Displays Ranking: 6 out of 6
Cost
Because most that come won’t drive home after the game, it is necessary to factor a hotel into the overall cost, especially because that is where nearly everyone needs to park. They are very expensive, like $300+ expensive. This is even for the Hampton Inn-type places. We opted for a $225 stay at the Lake Placid Summitt Hotel. It was a 15-minute walk from the arena and definitely cheaper in quality, but adequate for the non-picky. Tickets for each game are $35, while an all-tournament pass is $55 for the 3 games. Compare this to the other three conferences that hold neutral-site tournaments and ECAC’s is the most expensive. Hockey East has a $17 option and NCHC’s ticket starts at $30. The conference money-maker continues at the concession stand, more specifically, the beer stand as a 16oz can of Labatt or Bud Light was $7. Hot Dogs were $4.
Cost Ranking: 3 out of 8
Fan Support
ECAC’s Tournament does not bring in the numbers that other neutral-site conferences do (like Hockey East or the NCHC). But those are feature larger schools and I believe the league draws relatively well. Of course, the numbers are heavily dictated by who is in the Final Four. The last several years averaged around 4,700, but this year, the championship game drew 5,950 thanks to the presence of Clarkson University (an hour and a half away). Schools like Union, RPI, St Lawrence and Cornell will draw, while Colgate, Princeton, Yale and Harvard will not. The remote nature of Lake Placid and its small population means that most neutral fans are from those schools that stuck around for the Final after seeing their team lose in the Semifinal.
Fan Support Ranking: 5 out of 8
Atmosphere
Atmosphere again is dictated by the teams involved, but given that this is a championship game, it is usually an intense and fun affair. Dynamics in the arena allow for it to be become loud, but it is a rather bigger building, so it doesn’t get super loud compared to others of similar capacity. Game-day production features typical pop and rock music with occasional breaks to allow the school bands to play (though not enough breaks for that in my opinion). During this game, the crowd was 85% in favor of Clarkson and the Green and Gold did well with lots of “Let’s Go Tech” chants. While not continuously raucous, they were passionate (with many quite drunk) and went bonkers when the team tied it up.
Atmosphere Ranking: 10 out of 14
Other Stuff
The ECAC Hockey League was founded in 1962, but it wasn’t until the late 80s when it became more organized as a “conference” with a formal regular season. The tournament format features all 12 teams and the first two weekends are home site best-of-three series’. The final four then meet on a Friday/Saturday in a neutral site…..Lake Placid was also host from 1993-2002….Despite the relative remote location of Lake Placid, it makes for a good geographical point to many of ECAC’s members….The Olympic Center hosted the 1984 and 1988 NCAA Division I Championship and it periodically houses the Division III Championship….Herb Brooks Arena was built specifically for the Olympics and completed in the late 1970s…..There is no horn after goals…..”Let’s Go Tech”? Curiosity struck when I heard this chant coming from the Clarkson University section. Turns out the school was known as Clarkson College of Technology until 1984 and the “Tech” moniker remains a reference during hockey.
Game
The final pitted 3rd-seeded Clarkson (23-11-6) and #7 Princeton (19-13-4). The Tigers upset the top two seeds Cornell and Union to make it to the Final. Princeton took an early lead as Ryan Kuffner finished off a two-on-one late in the first period. Despite the heavy favorites controlling play, Princeton held tough and they continued to fight off the Golden Knights in the 3rd as they were outshot 14-5. With the goalie pulled, Clarkson failed to convert during a 6-on-4 with under three minutes left. Then, in pure desperation, Clarkson’s Terrance Amorosa threw one to the net and it got deflected for the tying goal with 6.4 seconds remaining. Pandemonium for Knight fans, crushing for Princeton. The Tigers regrouped though and had all five shots during OT as they saw Jake Kielly win it just shy of three minutes in. Princeton’s magical run through the tournament concludes with a championship keeping their every 10-year streak alive (’98, ’08 and ’18), while deflated Clarkson had the consolation prize of an At-Large NCAA Tournament bid.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
