From: Andrew Weise <[log in to unmask]>
 
> Somebody who actually WENT to Clarkson during the Walker Arena era might
> be able to help me on this one.
>
 
> I was in Potsdam for the final two years where Clarkson called Walker Arena
> home. Believe me, if it got loud, it got LOUD!! I had heard that
> visiting teams dreaded Walker as well as somewhere like Lynah Rink. The
> opposing goalie was in front of the band/student section (as is with Cheel
> these days). But, in Walker Arena, the stands were right on top of the ice,
> probably because it was a smaller ice surface. I could only imagine how
> the opposite goalie felt being so close to 1,000 band members/students who
> were taunting him the entire game.
>
> The other main reason visiting teams would rather have NOT played in Walker:
> "That damn bell!"
>
 
As a member of the charter year Clarkson Pep Band (started officially in the
'64-'65 season), I can tell you that the Pep Band was a very real intimidation
factor, being behind the opposing goalie in the first and third periods. We
were no more than 40-50 feet from the goalie and perhaps 20 feet above him.
And Walker arena, being so small, was LOUD, as was the Pep Band, of course! :)
 
As a trumpet player, I developed a really load, high pitched "horse whinny"
laughing sound which was used from time to time...
 
The bell was brought in by one of the fraternities, and eventually mounted
permanently. It would be rung after each goal for many seconds, and just
dinged once or twice each time the puck was a close call, effectively saying
"Look out -- we're comin' to get ya!" That is the current procedure, also.
 
An additional bit of trivia -- my fraternity had a large, black powder cannon
which was fired after every home game: 1 = loss, 2 = tie, 3 = win. I was the
official Cannoneer in '65-'66 which was the year that Clarkson was the season
champions, ECAC playoff champions, and NCAA finalists. Needless to say I
usually fired it three times! The tradition died a couple of years later when
college students could no longer get black powder licenses to purchase and
store the black powder...
 
Bill Kohler
Clarkson (College of Technology) '67          Let's go Tech!!
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   | Design Engineering Services            | Any opinions
  |  /|  /| /      | GE Corporate Research and Developement | expressed are
  | / | / |<       | PO Box 8, Bldg. K1-2s17                | strictly my own
  |/  |/  | \OHLER | Schenectady, NY 12301                  | opinions and
                   |  Voice-mail  (518)387-7953 (-6146 FAX) | (most probably)
 [log in to unmask] |  GE Dialcomm  8 * 833-7953 (-6146 FAX) | not GE's.
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------