Earlier I read pucksandbooks' article on his trip to the old Hersheypark Arena to watch a Bears practice.
Pucks waxed poetic on the state of the rink, and reflected on the intimate atmosphere it provided.
As I slowly read the article all I could think of was my trip down there for the Mason-Dixon Collegiate Hockey League playoffs. Last season Catholic University made the playoffs, and headed up to Hershey to face American in the first round.
I knew the rink was old, but nothing prepared me for what I saw. The first thing you notice is the contrast of old and new. To get to the old Arena, you have to circle the new Giant Arena. The old rink also sits about a hundred yards from the edge of Hershey's Chocolate World, a modern building that leads you into the park. After that Hersheypark Arena looks old and worn, but to hockey lovers it's quaint and full of history.
To reach the locker rooms we had to enter the main doors, and walk to a back stairwell to reach the underbelly of the arena. There is no real concourse, simply a narrow walkway halfway up the stands, with individual nooks underneath the upper seating that contain restrooms and concessions stands. In one such nook there was a narrow stairwell so tight and turning that your hockey bag banged off the wall on your left and railing on your right the whole way down.
Downstairs held several locker rooms and skate rental counter. The locker rooms were worn but spacious, and provided ample room to horse around and prepare. Another door in the locker room opened to the walkway that leads to the ice next to the bench. When we arrived there was a public skate going on, so we threw on our skates and had a little fun before our game. Nothing makes you feel more like a kid than when you're zooming around the ice during a public skate, weaving in and out of other skaters, and mock threatening to knock each other over.
Halfway through the game the puck was tied up near one of the faceoff circles in the American zone. Playing defense, I pinched in and somehow snuck a backhand past the netminder for the goal. It was my second goal of the season, and I was ecstatic. To be able to have that feeling in such a cool place was beyond compare.
The next morning we were smoked in the semifinals by Alvernia, and were sent packing. But it was without question one of the coolest two days of hockey I've ever had. They held an AHL All-Star game there, the Bears won Calder Cups there. And there I was sitting in locker rooms that were once occupied by guys no playing in the NHL. It was a neat feeling.
Sure there were maybe 30-40 people watching our games, and the rink echoed it's emptiness. But there was just something about looking up above the upper-most seats behind each net and checking the progress of the game on the decades-old scoreboards. There's a warmth you feel with the old wooden seats and the faded paint. Pucks is so right in saying the steeped seating and old feel made it seem that much more intimate.
Overall the weekend was an experience. Nothing beats fighting for a championship in a storied old building like that. The hours-long trip there, the anticipation, the victory and defeat. It all adds up to create something that will never be forgotten. Even the picture of Osala giving that young boy a stick makes me smile.
Why? Because seven months ago it was me that was walking down that runway.
