The second game of my Army DH was hockey at Tate Rink, located just a few steps away from Christl Arena inside the Holleder Center. However, as I did not have a ticket to the hockey game yet, I had to go outside and walk around the front to get back to the box office. This gave me time to have another look at the memorabilia, including the plaque commemorating the Army-RMC hockey series, known as the Challenge Cup. RMC is the equivalent school in Canada and the two teams have played annually since 1923, with the exception of five years between 2007-11. Army leads the all-time series 46-29-7, with much of that coming more recently (20-3-3 since 1987).
There are two options at the box office: chairbacks for $16 and bleachers for $12. I usually prefer to sit a bit higher, but Tate Rink has an interesting setup along the glass, as the first row of seats is about 4 feet above the ice, giving you a unique view. As they had a seat right by the face-off circle, I splurged the extra $4 and got that.
Glass seats are often not that good as you cannot see the other end of the ice clearly, but there are no stanchions to join the glass here, so you have a good view all the way down the ice.
I wandered up to center ice to get an overall feeling of the rink. It is quite small, with four rows of chairback seats and eight rows of bleachers. Note the "Duty Honor Country" sign behind the benches.
There is no end zone seating other than a party area behind one of the nets. There is a soda machine here where a can will cost you $1.25, a sizeable savings than the $4 for fountain beverages outside, and if you are lucky, the person who used it before you might forget his 75 cents in change. If you want food, the area between the rink and Christl Arena has the basics, but there is an additional concession stand open around the corner, where the windows look onto the basketball court. Dubbed The Grill, you can find more substantial items such as chicken tenders and burgers.
Note the windows in the wall in the photo above, which is the only way to watch the game from this angle. The view from these windows is below; protective netting and window guards make it less than ideal.
At the far end of the rink is the video board that shows replays after every goal. Below it is advertising the Challenge Cup game, which is to be held in January 2019.
The main scoreboard is above center ice and is so basic that it doesn't even have shot totals. Note the yellow tubes in the ceiling that make what is often an eyesore a rather attractive addition.
Army plays out of the Atlantic Hockey Association, a hockey-only conference with a few schools who don't have any other Division I sports, such as Bentley and American International College (AIC). I always appreciate seeing the flags for the other schools, as my conference knowledge is still pretty weak.
There are banners commemorating past stars, including Dave Rost, whose 330 career points still stands as the NCAA record, and Jack Riley, who coached here for 36 seasons. His son Brian has coached the team since 2004.
Overall, Tate Rink is another great NCAA hockey venue. I was very happy with my seat and the crowd was much better than that at the basketball game. Although football is the star attraction of West Point athletics, I don't think you will be disappointed by attending a hockey game here.
The Game
The Canisius Golden Griffins had made the trip from Buffalo for this colourful two-game set against the Black Knights, with Army taking the opener the night before 5-4. Army scored early in the first, but Canisius tied it on a deflection midway through. The second period again saw Army take the lead, but then Dylan McLaughlin of the Golden Griffins took over. Less than two minutes after the Army marker, McLaughlin redirected a shot past Army keeper Jared Dempsey (manning the net below). Then with Army shorthanded, McLaughlin sped down the right wing, crossed in front of Dempsey and tucked the puck home. It was a great individual effort from last year's AHA Player of the Year.
Army was unable to tie it up and late in the third, McLaughlin stripped Dominic Franco at the Army blue line to create a 2-on-0 and passed to Austin Alger, who salted the game away with the easy goal, earning Canisius the split, 4-2.
A very fast-paced affair that lasted just over two hours and a great way to end the day. Two close games in two new stadiums is all I could ask for.
Notes
These were the 795th and 796th venues I have seen, following the venue rules that allow for the same building to count for different sports and levels. However, many other chasers only count the building once, so I will start doing that as well. Interestingly, my unique venue count is almost exactly 100 behind my overall count, with Tate Rink the 697th building in which I have seen a game.
Best,
Sean
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