University of Maine Black Bears back in the NCAA Frozen Four Hockey Tournament

4/4/2007 11:17:38 PM #

Personally, I think hockey is coolest game on ice (to borrow an NHL marketing slogan).  In our scrub group we have a former Canadian MP, 74 -75 years old, and he still gets up and down the ice. Great camaraderie, good exercise.

My friend (we both live in Thunder Bay) went to a UMD Bulldogs game in Minni. a couple of weeks ago, and he said the building was nuts - hockey, fans, high school and college bands - he said he has never seen anything like it.

Bill Mogk

4/4/2007 11:30:32 PM #

Hey Bill,
  I couldn't agree more, college hockey is such a blast. The atmosphere is so much fun with the bands and the small close arenas. Here is a picture of the Alfond arena at UMaine. The house I grow up in is visible in this photo (if your browser window is large enough).

maps.google.com/maps

It's such a place of energy and excitement I really miss not being able to attend games. I'd be a season ticket holder if we were living anywhere close.

Steve Trefethen

4/5/2007 2:40:31 AM #

Steve --

I couldn't agree more about College Hockey vs. the NHL.

I'm a Minnesota Gophers fan myself.  I see they came up a bit short this year.

Nick

Nick Hodges

4/5/2007 2:43:57 PM #

Steve, Thanks for the map.  The area looks a bit like Thunder Bay - not too crowded.

The local university team, the Thunder Wolves, always packs the largest local arena, which holds about 3,500, I think.  The team usually has local component to it, so the fans can relate to the team.

It must have been a bit of a "culture shock" for you guys to move from northern U.S. to CAL.

Bill Mogk

4/5/2007 3:24:42 PM #

Hey Bill,
  You're welcome! The Black Bears would frequently invite a high school band to play with the University band for that "local component" and I too think that was really effective. The Alfond used to be a rectangle and they pushed the side out and turned it into a cross (which is what you see in the picture). The building is very impressive and the inside even more so. The roof has multiple "peaks" and looks like a bit like a mountain range. Hey, I just found this picture:

www.umaine.edu/locator/buildingdisplay.asp?id=35

and this one:

goblackbears.cstv.com/facilities/main-alfond.html

My Dad is a Civil Engineer who work on this project and the last time I was home (a few years ago) he gave me a tour of the facility since I hadn't been there since before the phase 2 construction. It's really a beautiful building. There is a very interesting story about how the roof was constructed and I'll see if I can get my dad to write it up and post it here.

Steve Trefethen