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Post by longsuffering on Feb 14, 2023 20:50:15 GMT -5
There's also Buffone Rink near the Lake, which is neither good nor bad, but the facilities are decent. I played there quite a bit during the summers while I was at HC. The Hart always took out the ice in the Spring, but Buffone (the Railers did not exist at the time) still had ice. I filled in at goalie for a senior hockey league called the "Rusty Blades." The ice was soft in the summer but I never played there in the winter time. I played my Junior and Senior high school seasons at what know is called Buffone, it was Lake Ave when it opened in the fall of '68..There are rinks all over the state that were built to handle the huge uptick in hockey at the time..All the rinks were run run by the State, and all were built exactly the same! There is one in Auburn also now..Not well designed for hockey, locker rooms were closets, couldn't fit a whole team in them, even with no equipment! The second year Buffone was open, plywood walls were put up in the corners of the building that served as dressing rooms..No showers, toilets, heat or locker stalls....A few years later a larger locker room complex was build as an addition to the building..It has been many years since I have been in that place! The ice was always soft, the building wasn't cold enough..But it was a huge upgrade from the Webster Square rink! I saw the Rusty Blades play a game against the Bruins Alumni in that rink! Huge uptick in hockey in the late sixties in MA: "The Bobby Orr effect."
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Post by HC92 on Feb 14, 2023 21:53:52 GMT -5
Every time I click on this thread I hope to find an update on a potential major renovation of rink. I am often disappointed.
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 15, 2023 0:20:39 GMT -5
Every time I click on this thread I hope to find an update on a potential major renovation of rink. I am often disappointed. The inconvenient truth is the current arena functions although it certainly does not meet everybody's wants. If large dedicated checks don't arrive for a major upgrade, Kit and TPTB will continue studying this issue intently. The costs of new arenas at SHU and Fairfield are sobering. Perhaps they have put together a package of minor, modestly priced improvements that show well as a plan B if big donations don't arrive. I don't begrudge the college making tough budget decisions when spending student tuition and fees.
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Post by bfoley82 on Feb 15, 2023 0:48:34 GMT -5
Every time I click on this thread I hope to find an update on a potential major renovation of rink. I am often disappointed. The inconvenient truth is the current arena functions although it certainly does not meet everybody's wants. If large dedicated checks don't arrive for a major upgrade, Kit and TPTB will continue studying this issue intently. The costs of new arenas at SHU and Fairfield are sobering. Perhaps they have put together a package of minor, modestly priced improvements that show well as a plan B if big donations don't arrive. I don't begrudge the college making tough budget decisions when spending student tuition and fees. Was the Fairfield number just the arena or the arena plus the new recreation building which looked at least redone?
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 15, 2023 1:40:57 GMT -5
$51 million, 100% donor paid, 85,000 sf, 3500 capacity multi use space for basketball, volleyball, university events and concerts. No mention of any other structure included in the price.
The lead donor/college trustee made the largest ever gift to Fairfield by an alumna and named the building after her father Leo Mahoney a Northeastern U. S. A. road salt magnate.
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Post by Tom on Feb 15, 2023 10:28:14 GMT -5
Another thread talked about replacing the Easy St dorms. .I have to believe that will be happening before renovating the west half of Hart
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Post by cruskater31 on Feb 15, 2023 10:57:15 GMT -5
There's also Buffone Rink near the Lake, which is neither good nor bad, but the facilities are decent. I played there quite a bit during the summers while I was at HC. The Hart always took out the ice in the Spring, but Buffone (the Railers did not exist at the time) still had ice. I filled in at goalie for a senior hockey league called the "Rusty Blades." The ice was soft in the summer but I never played there in the winter time. I played my Junior and Senior high school seasons at what know is called Buffone, it was Lake Ave when it opened in the fall of '68..There are rinks all over the state that were built to handle the huge uptick in hockey at the time..All the rinks were run run by the State, and all were built exactly the same! There is one in Auburn also now..Not well designed for hockey, locker rooms were closets, couldn't fit a whole team in them, even with no equipment! The second year Buffone was open, plywood walls were put up in the corners of the building that served as dressing rooms..No showers, toilets, heat or locker stalls....A few years later a larger locker room complex was build as an addition to the building..It has been many years since I have been in that place! The ice was always soft, the building wasn't cold enough..But it was a huge upgrade from the Webster Square rink! I saw the Rusty Blades play a game against the Bruins Alumni in that rink! Good stuff DiMarz! The locker rooms are all more than sufficient now for most teams. I am consoled to hear the ice was always soft! There are certainly a lot of options now in Worcester.
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aaa8316
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 147
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Post by aaa8316 on Feb 15, 2023 17:33:44 GMT -5
The inconvenient truth is the current arena functions although it certainly does not meet everybody's wants. If large dedicated checks don't arrive for a major upgrade, Kit and TPTB will continue studying this issue intently. The costs of new arenas at SHU and Fairfield are sobering. Perhaps they have put together a package of minor, modestly priced improvements that show well as a plan B if big donations don't arrive. I don't begrudge the college making tough budget decisions when spending student tuition and fees. Was the Fairfield number just the arena or the arena plus the new recreation building which looked at least redone? See above. This is the only way the "news" in this thread is ever going to positively change. Harsh reality for the handful of us on here that understand how dire the rink situation is at HC.
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Post by matunuck on Feb 15, 2023 18:58:14 GMT -5
There’s a reason the rink discussion was held in Fairfield, CT. We shall see.
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Post by timholycross on Feb 16, 2023 15:42:23 GMT -5
I played my Junior and Senior high school seasons at what know is called Buffone, it was Lake Ave when it opened in the fall of '68..There are rinks all over the state that were built to handle the huge uptick in hockey at the time..All the rinks were run run by the State, and all were built exactly the same! There is one in Auburn also now..Not well designed for hockey, locker rooms were closets, couldn't fit a whole team in them, even with no equipment! The second year Buffone was open, plywood walls were put up in the corners of the building that served as dressing rooms..No showers, toilets, heat or locker stalls....A few years later a larger locker room complex was build as an addition to the building..It has been many years since I have been in that place! The ice was always soft, the building wasn't cold enough..But it was a huge upgrade from the Webster Square rink! I saw the Rusty Blades play a game against the Bruins Alumni in that rink! Good stuff DiMarz! The locker rooms are all more than sufficient now for most teams. I am consoled to hear the ice was always soft! There are certainly a lot of options now in Worcester. My father was on a committee that got a rink built in 1963 in Framingham. It was one of the very first rinks in the suburbs; just about all the ones built in the decade after that are gone; but Loring remains. Hockey players love the ice; given how cold it is in the place, no surprise. They renovated it about 5 years ago, probably replaced/added on 20% of the original building; cost them 10 times as much as the original building.
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Post by HC92 on Feb 24, 2023 15:17:19 GMT -5
UConn played a game last night in front of a students-only crowd at their new barn. Seems like a fun time was had by all.
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Post by hc17 on Feb 24, 2023 15:31:54 GMT -5
What is a realistic expectation for the renovation? Anything to base it off of? Am I getting ahead of myself here...
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Post by HC92 on Feb 24, 2023 15:46:06 GMT -5
What is a realistic expectation for the renovation? Anything to base it off of? Am I getting ahead of myself here... Depends whether they can find a few wealthy friends and/or alums to write very large checks. I know Kit was at our first SHU game in their new barn and hosting some folks. I suspect those folks were wealthy and assume he was hoping the beautiful new arena at SHU would inspire one or more of them to want to put their name on such a barn at HC.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Mar 1, 2023 15:44:02 GMT -5
What is a realistic expectation for the renovation? Anything to base it off of? Am I getting ahead of myself here... KH said HC was not spending what UConn spent. ($70 million), and was looking at options for the existing rink.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 1, 2023 22:40:35 GMT -5
What is a realistic expectation for the renovation? Anything to base it off of? Am I getting ahead of myself here... KH said HC was not spending what UConn spent. ($70 million), and was looking at options for the existing rink. And I wonder where the 70 million went to at UConn...
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 13, 2023 21:50:41 GMT -5
It was announced today that Binghamton is adding Men's Ice Hockey. There is already four full-time America East schools (UNH, Lowell, Vermont, and Maine) and another affiliate (Merrimack in MLAX) in Hockey East so got to think they have the inside track on the 12th spot in Hockey East.
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woorat
Climbing Mt. St. James
Posts: 66
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Post by woorat on Apr 14, 2023 10:06:01 GMT -5
There is no way the Hockey East teams are going to travel to Binghamton. Does not fit into their footprint.
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Post by purplehaze on Apr 14, 2023 10:21:06 GMT -5
Could they join the AHA ? Much closer to our footprint - Robert Morris rejoining the league this coming season and that trip is ridiculously long
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 14, 2023 10:36:00 GMT -5
There is no way the Hockey East teams are going to travel to Binghamton. Does not fit into their footprint. Conference commish worked at UNH, likely has relationships, four schools travel there already, etc…It will be interesting as this could break up Hockey East since one more AE school adds hockey, they would get an auto bid.
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Post by timholycross on Apr 14, 2023 12:23:49 GMT -5
So you're saying that hockey fans in Burlington, Durham and Orono would pass up frequent trips to the Boston area to go to friggin Binghamton? Gotta say I'm a little skeptical of that possibility.
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Post by Chu Chu on Apr 14, 2023 13:47:20 GMT -5
There is no way the Hockey East teams are going to travel to Binghamton. Does not fit into their footprint. I think that the question to consider is "East of what?" It's not like they're in Nevada!
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Post by beachbound on Apr 14, 2023 13:49:30 GMT -5
I think HE is keeping the door open for Quinnipiac, even though it is very unlikely they will leave the ECAC. Only remote scenario is if Penn reinstates Hockey and the Ivy’s can get an auto bid on their own. If SHU becomes a consistent winner in AHA they may eventually get a look as they can bring a women’s team too. I just don’t see them bringing in a new program. They want a school that can win immediately and seem content will 11 teams.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Apr 14, 2023 16:25:53 GMT -5
There is no way the Hockey East teams are going to travel to Binghamton. Does not fit into their footprint. Conference commish worked at UNH, likely has relationships, four schools travel there already, etc…It will be interesting as this could break up Hockey East since one more AE school adds hockey, they would get an auto bid. Don't think a breakup would ever happen (why would Lowell, Maine, UVM and UNH want to break off from PC, Northeastern, UMASS, BC and BU). But if America East took over the Hockey East banner I'd be all for HC joining in all sports. Then you'd be at the point where America East football would be a possibility as well.
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Post by longsuffering on Apr 14, 2023 23:08:58 GMT -5
Captain Wallace Binghampton has a better chance of outsmarting Lt. Commander Quinton McHale than H.E. adding a start up program 305 miles (by car) from Boston.
Geographically Holy Cross is right about at the arch of the H.E. footprint but demographically it has more in common with the smaller private schools in the AHA. Although AHA has two service academies it has no state universities or large private universities like BU, BC, NU.
On the other hand, BU, BC, NU are/were long time regional athletic rivals of HC in many sports, unlike Bentley, AIC or Mercyhurst. Highlights what a unique school Holy Cross is.
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Post by nhteamer on Apr 17, 2023 8:48:46 GMT -5
Unique
Huh, I'll buy that
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