Andrew Weise writes of Clarkson's old Walker Arena:
 
>The difference is almost night & day. Walker was a tiny, cramped,
>dark, loud arena that visitors didn't like to play in. The crowd was
>right on top of the ice, packed into 5 rows on the sides and 10
>rows on the end (I think). There was general admission, literally
>standing room, around the arena. People leaned against the wall
>that stood behind the last row all around the arena and also sat
>on the railing behind that, which were always packed. The place looked
>like a fire hazard, but you could fit 2000 fans in there. Not being
>a visiting player, I can't speak for how intimidating it was to
>be an opponent of Clarkson. Although I imagine the opposing
>goalie didn't have too much fun.
 
I had the honor of attending the last regular season game at Walker,
an 11-1 Clarkson win over Princeton in '91 (only 2 PPG in all that
Golden Knights scoring). It was the most lopsided game I've ever
seen and the crowd was unusually lively. The bell was loud, as was
the band, but anything seemed loud because it was such a tiny
building. There was a note in the foyer from the Potsdam fire
marshall that limited capacity to 1800 or so people, so Andrew
was right - it WAS a fire hazard because there were often over 2000
on hand. The press box was so small that only five or six people
could stand shoulder-to-shoulder. You had to climb up through
a trapdoor to get in. It was also freezing, except for in the
two square feet directly in front of each hot air blower coming
down from the roof.
 
I'm sure Clarkson lost some home ice advantage when it made the
switch to Cheel, but gained plenty of revenue in the long haul.
The team character changed pretty quickly from a grinding, gritty
group to a more wide-open style -- a reflection of the bigger ice
surface and the emphasis on speed. This year's Golden Knights would
probably have liked Walker (not that they don't have as much talent -
but that they like to bang people around).
 
As for the new siren, or the siren at Houston Field House, I still
think the siren at Appleton Arena is the loudest of them all. The
low ceiling (lights below the press box!) makes the volume of the
siren obliterate all other sound. The Walker/Appleton combination
was my favorite pair of road rinks, but I suspect that ECAC players
never felt the same way.
 
Geoff Howell
Drop the Puck Magazine
 
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