Bentley Begins Process to Build On-Campus Rink

[ScottK]

If you're referring to the one on Totten Pond Road, I don't think that has any seating????

Trivia Question: Who remembers the name of the ski hill that used to be across the street and up a bit from that MDC rink? Bentley Ski Club used to practice there. It's now apartments iirc.

Prospect Hill - http://www.nelsap.org/ma/prospecthill.html

[Ralph Baer]

Congrats.

If you guys beat out RIT to a spot in the ECAC I will ragequit.

I don't think that Bentley would be considered unless they also start a women's team.

[Chris Lerch]

If you're referring to the one on Totten Pond Road, I don't think that has any seating????

The hotel RIT stays at when playing Bentley is near this rink and I stopped in one time. There is indeed almost no seating. Nicer rink, but nowhere to put a decent set of bleachers.

[schiegs]

I don't think that Bentley would be considered unless they also start a women's team.

Hockey East it is, then. :-D

If I were a betting man, I don't think Bentley is going anywhere with regards to conference affiliation. Even if a tangential case could be made for Hockey East (and I struggle to conceive of one), the last thing that conference needs is another Eastern Mass program.

And if the requirement for a women's program is indeed the case for ECAC (had never thought of that), I don't see the added cost involved going over well.

There are plenty of other arguments to be made for either case, but I don't see any of them carrying enough weight. In the end, a new arena alongside the conference maximum of scholarship equivalencies should put Bentley at/near the top of AHA with regard to financial commitments.

[Snively65]

Hockey East it is, then. :-D

If I were a betting man, I don't think Bentley is going anywhere with regards to conference affiliation. Even if a tangential case could be made for Hockey East (and I struggle to conceive of one), the last thing that conference needs is another Eastern Mass program.

And if the requirement for a women's program is indeed the case for ECAC (had never thought of that), I don't see the added cost involved going over well.

There are plenty of other arguments to be made for either case, but I don't see any of them carrying enough weight. In the end, a new arena alongside the conference maximum of scholarship equivalencies should put Bentley at/near the top of AHA with regard to financial commitments.

Agree entirely. I do not think that Hart Rink at Holy Cross would be acceptable to Hockey East either. Atlantic Hockey teams need to stick together, and try to add another team in the eastern sector for a return to an even number of teams.

We are still talking about 2018-2019 as the earliest that a rink might open on Bentley's campus, so even this year's freshmen will have graduated by then.

[Red Cows]

You think it's bad reading about it, try going to a game there. Yes, that is also their practice facility. I've been there dozens of times, and still have trouble finding it sometimes.

A new arena was the only logical step. It was simply a matter of finding the right circumstances to make the commitment. Bentley is a conservative institution run by conservative people.

If you are a Bentley fan, perhaps you'll find this story amusing.

My wife, before she went to culinary school and became a chef, was a property manager for Broadmoor Development here in Omaha.

In the late '80's, Broadmoor built an apartment complex here in Omaha that my wife was in charge of the construction of. Her boss let her pick the name of the complex. One of the two guys that owned the company drove a Bentley. Presto! Bentley Apartments!

Cut to the '13'-14' college hockey season and Bentley is here in Omaha to play UNO for the very first time. I asked her the Friday night of the first game if she felt guilty rooting against Bentley.

She whacked me.

[ericredaxe]

If you're referring to the one on Totten Pond Road, I don't think that has any seating????

Trivia Question: Who remembers the name of the ski hill that used to be across the street and up a bit from that MDC rink? Bentley Ski Club used to practice there. It's now apartments iirc.

That was the one I was thinking of.... Maybe I'm remembering the inside wrong.

Prospect Hill!

[Snively65]

If you are a Bentley fan, perhaps you'll find this story amusing.

My wife, before she went to culinary school and became a chef, was a property manager for Broadmoor Development here in Omaha.

In the late '80's, Broadmoor built an apartment complex here in Omaha that my wife was in charge of the construction of. Her boss let her pick the name of the complex. One of the two guys that owned the company drove a Bentley. Presto! Bentley Apartments!

Cut to the '13'-14' college hockey season and Bentley is here in Omaha to play UNO for the very first time. I asked her the Friday night of the first game if she felt guilty rooting against Bentley.

She whacked me.

Great story, Red Cows. :-)

I followed those two Falcons games in Omaha on my iPhone while leading a geology field trip in northern Maine during Columbus Day weekend in 2013; no one there understood why I was excited about Bentley winning that first game.

About Prospect Hill near the Waltham rink with limited seating on Totten Pond Road, the top is the highest elevation in Waltham and provides excellent views to the west and south. The old ski slope has grown in with vegetation, testament to the regeneration rates of temperate zone trees and shrubs, but remains undeveloped, and primo for hiking, picnicking, etc.

Will be interesting to see who visits for our opening game, whenever that happens; I am thinking that our inaugural opponent might be Holy Cross, but Omaha, the Michigan Wolverines, BU, and several other teams owe us a return visit and might draw more than the usual fan base. We beat BU at Agganis last season; good timing!

[Flatlander14]

We beat BU at Agganis last season; good timing!

Hm? Wasn't last season cancelled because of lack of interest?

[ericredaxe]

Will be interesting to see who visits for our opening game, whenever that happens; I am thinking that our inaugural opponent might be Holy Cross, but Omaha, the Michigan Wolverines, BU, and several other teams owe us a return visit and might draw more than the usual fan base. We beat BU at Agganis last season; good timing!

Isn't there a tradition about not playing a conference opponent when opening a new rink?

Technically I doubt the scheduling agreement between the schools had any language about the BUs / Michigans etc owing a return visit. For better or worse that's usually how it goes when a smaller conference team schedules a larger conference one. That doesn't mean a team like that wouldn't come to take part in opening night festivities.

[Snively65]

Isn't there a tradition about not playing a conference opponent when opening a new rink?

Technically I doubt the scheduling agreement between the schools had any language about the BUs / Michigans etc owing a return visit. For better or worse that's usually how it goes when a smaller conference team schedules a larger conference one. That doesn't mean a team like that wouldn't come to take part in opening night festivities.

I am sure that you are right. But, BU certainly has an old score to settle, assuming that we do not get back to Agganis over the next three years. I was just joking about Red bringing his Wolverines back east to play Bentley, but that was a blast in Ann Arbor three years ago last fall watching Alex Grieve get his first collegiate goal putting Bentley up 1-0, which held up until 5 minutes left in game 1.

[LtPowers]

Isn't there a tradition about not playing a conference opponent when opening a new rink?

I don't know that it's a tradition; I think it's just that early-season games (when one tends to open a new rink) are usually non-conference.


Powers &8^]

[schiegs]

Getting WAY ahead of ourselves, but...

Opening night game is crucial. A name brand university draws attention and buzz. Not to slight anyone, but if it were instead St. Cloud, UNO, or MTU, hockey fans would appreciate those opponents, but the casual fan won't be as inspired.

I wonder if another Boston school would partner in bringing out two teams from B1G. Michigan on Friday night and Wisconsin on Saturday, swapping opponents with say BC each night. I would think those schools would at least consider such a weekend, if the details were favorable.

[komey1]

I wonder if another Boston school would partner in bringing out two teams from B1G. Michigan on Friday night and Wisconsin on Saturday, swapping opponents with say BC each night. I would think those schools would at least consider such a weekend, if the details were favorable.

I think it would be a MAJOR stretch to get one BIG team out, let alone two. I think RIT was lucky to get Michigan out to Rochester - and I don't think they would have gone to the GPC even with it's capacity. A name like a Cornell or Yale.

[ericredaxe]

Getting WAY ahead of ourselves, but...

Opening night game is crucial. A name brand university draws attention and buzz. Not to slight anyone, but if it were instead St. Cloud, UNO, or MTU, hockey fans would appreciate those opponents, but the casual fan won't be as inspired.

I wonder if another Boston school would partner in bringing out two teams from B1G. Michigan on Friday night and Wisconsin on Saturday, swapping opponents with say BC each night. I would think those schools would at least consider such a weekend, if the details were favorable.

I'm not in the know but I think it would be more realistic to get a "big" hockey east or ECAC team to take the bus ride to Waltham. Personally I think it would be great if BU were to take part in opening night. After last year though, I'm not sure we are signing up for that.

[The Top Shelf]

Regardless of who it is, it will be nice to finally have some OOC games played at home. I think we've had one series at home (Clarkson) in the program's history. As far as opponents for the game? I think for opening night, getting a local New England school with some name recognition to the typical non-hockey fan is the best way to go. Looking at Harvard, The UMass', BU, UNH, BC or Northeastern. It's going to be a special night regardless. Outside of opening night? Maybe the annual game at Harvard become's a home and home series? Or a year by year alternating series? I know UMass Lowell was supposed to play a game at the JAR from a few years ago and I'm not sure what happened there. I'm just glad it's finally happening. Something to soften the blow of last night.

[schiegs]

It is looking more and more like an arena will be a specific line item for the upcoming Centennial capital campaign. The onus will then shift to alumni and major donors to follow through with donations to make the campaign a success. While being a specific goal of the campaign, I would not categorize an arena as the highest of priorities if donors do not come through.

[Snively65]

Thanks for reviving this thread, schiegs. I think that plans for the on-campus rink will move forward regardless of the capital campaign's outcome, as those usually are multi-year affairs, I think. My understanding is that the donations for construction were not the problem, but rather the hurdle was Bentley's commitment to the long-term maintenance costs. With the building now designated as a multi-purpose events center, perhaps part of that constraint has been mitigated?

And, we need to follow up on TTS's post from back in March, as now we know that there will be not just one OOC game at the JAR this season, but two (NU and RPI).

[schiegs]

Thanks for reviving this thread, schiegs. I think that plans for the on-campus rink will move forward regardless of the capital campaign's outcome, as those usually are multi-year affairs, I think. My understanding is that the donations for construction were not the problem, but rather the hurdle was Bentley's commitment to the long-term maintenance costs. With the building now designated as a multi-purpose events center, perhaps part of that constraint has been mitigated?

And, we need to follow up on TTS's post from back in March, as now we know that there will be not just one OOC game at the JAR this season, but two (NU and RPI).

Three....Merrimack.

[Snively65]

Three....Merrimack.

Oh, yeah, thanks, schiegs. "Not just one, not just two, not just three...."