Location: Worcester, Massachusetts
Opened: 1975
Seating Capacity: 1600
The next arena that I will be analyzing is the Hart Center, which is home to the Holy Cross Crusaders.
Similarly to BGSU's campus, which I wrote about in an earlier blog, Holy Cross' campus is covered in their school's colors. But instead of a large pumpkin patch, it looks like Barney's university; the campus is covered in purple. The Barney reference isn't a knock on the campus however, because the Holy Cross campus is gorgeous. It sits on a ridge overlooking the city of Worcester, MA.
The Hart Center, which is just one segment of a large athletic facility, received renovations in 2016. Money was donated to the school to renovate the Luth Athletic Complex, which houses the Hart Center. The money set aside for the ice arena was used to renovate the men's and women's locker rooms and coaching offices. Unfortunately, we don't get the benefits from these new additions.
The ice arena only has seating on one side of the rink which are located directly behind the players' benches. The walls surrounding the ice surface are very close to the glass on the other three sides and it creates a vicious echoing effect. Pucks that deflect off of the boards and glass are extremely loud in this arena.
The glass in the arena is very firm, like that at Tate Rink at Army West Point, but the stanchions that hold the glass in place are painted purple. It provides the arena with a unique look, because the majority of arenas have clear or silver stanchions. The scoreboard, located over the zamboni door, is colored purple. There are also championship banners hanging across from the benches that are purple as well.
The ice surface is very quick and the arena has a very tight feeling to it. Plays seem to develop rather quickly on the ice surface and there isn't a lot of room to maneuver. The arena feels fast because the ice arena is cold and the ice freezes rapidly. Many players prefer this style of ice because it creates a more skilled and fast game speed.
Holy Cross doesn't receive a ton of support from its students in terms of hockey. I have played four games in my career at the Hart Center and none of the crowds were overly impressive. The best attendance would have been at their senior night last season. The Hart Center was pretty full on that night, but a full crowd at the Hart Center is not a difficult feat because of its small seating capacity.
I would describe the Hart Center best as a mediocre arena. It is not an arena I dread going to, aside from the eight hour long bus ride, but it is also one that I would not write home about either (maybe just in a blog). It is very simplistic and is similar to a few arenas in Atlantic Hockey.
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In hoc signo vinces.
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