Boston is known as a hockey town, but it seems universities all across New England have plenty to offer when it comes to college rinks.
The Wall Street Journal recently visited college hockey rinks to assess each barn on a number of different levels, including most intimidating and best design. Several rinks throughout the Northeast were honored amongst the ten different caterogies.
Perennial hockey powerhouses Boston University and Boston College were left out, in spite of BU's Agganis Arena, which is only five years old.
Northeastern represented Boston by winning the best history catergory. Matthews Arena, which opened in 1910, was the first home of the Boston Bruins and Celtics, and is one of the oldest existing ice hockey arenas.
Hockey East rival University of New Hampshire won the best ice award for two reasons. First, it boasts a larger surface area than most as its ice surface uses the international dimensions of 200 by 100 feet wide. This Whittemore Center ice is larger than NHL rink dimensions, which are 200 by 85 feet wide.
Second, after the first UNH goal of each game, students toss a dead fish onto the Whittemore ice to symbolize "fishing" the puck out of the net.
Fellow Hockey East competitor Maine won for the best atmosphere. Alfond Arena has 5,445 seats and features an exciting mix of students and locals.
"There's nothing like Maine hockey," Black Bears fan Melissa Cross said. "What else are you going to do when it's 20 below?"
The Eastern College Athletic Conference boasted one category winner of its own but also one loser in Yale and Princeton, respectively.
Yale won for best ice rink design. Nicknamed the "Yale Whale," Ingalls Rink has a humpback-shaped roof and offers 3,500 seats, all with an unobstructed view of the ice. The most coveted seats are actually not seats at all as the standing room ramp that encircles the rink is the best place to watch games.
Fellow Ivy and ECAC conference rival Princeton also was the winner in a category, but not in a good way. Taking home the least lively award, Hobey Baker Rink has been around since 1923 and bears a striking resemblance to a library — both in visuals and sounds. Apparently, not much noise comes from the 2,000 seats that the rink houses.
