Rink Review: Clarkson's Cheel Arena

The next arena up for Rink Review is the Cheel Arena, the home of the Clarkson Golden Knights. This evaluation is based on my first and only visit to Cheel.

Here is what Wikipedia says about Cheel:

Cheel Arena is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Potsdam, New York. Cheel Arena was opened in on October 26th, 1991, and is named after Helen Snell Cheel, a long-time benefactor of Clarkson University, who provided a major gift towards the project.

Ice is maintained throughout a large portion of the year for campus and community usage ranging from intramural hockey and broomball, Section X High School Championships, and figure skating. When the ice is removed, the facility is used for Clarkson's graduation and other local events. Cheel Arena typically hosts a concert every April featuring several music and comedy acts, presented by Clarkson Union Board.

The attendance record of 4,125 was set on January 18th, 2003 against arch-rival St. Lawrence University, although many consider it to be un-official due to the large number of empty seats at the game. The previous record was 4,115 set against the same team the previous year.

Students are admitted to most regular season hockey games free of charge. 

The arena is located within Cheel Campus Center which is the student center for Clarkson. The center contains eateries, the student post office, and Club 99. It replaced Walker Arena, the 1,800 seat home of Clarkson since 1938.

You can learn more about the arena on the Clarkson Athletics Website.

Here's my evaluation:

The Bonesaw Brigade

Atmosphere:
The arena has a well above average atmosphere, which is partly due to the number of people in the seats. Cheel sits around 3,000 people, and when I was there it was almost full. I'm told that most of the seats are filled at the majority of the games. The driving force of the atmosphere at the rink is the Clarkson pep band and student section, which is situated conveniently behind the opposing net. The pep band plays some fun songs, and the students do a good job with their organized cheers, both things that I think all college hockey student section should have. Check out the Pep Band website for more.

Either the student section or a part of the student section is called the "Bonesaw Brigade." I really didn't notice them and their handmade saws, but maybe that was because I sat on the other side of the rink. For more, check out their website.

I also like how during the American national anthem, the whole crowd yells "KNIGHTS!" when the word "night" is said. They do the same thing with "red" at Cornell and RPI, and "you" at Union.

Another obvious thing that adds to the atmosphere is the incredibly loud train whistle that is blow when the Knights go on the ice and score goals. Personally, I think it's too loud. It is also very obvious that you're in Clarkson's house. Everything in the rink is painted Green and Gold, the word Knights is every where, and everything is written in "medieval" font. I think it's important that when anybody walks into your building, they know exactly who's building it is.

This video gives a good example of what the atmosphere is like at a Clarkson game:

Tradition:
Clarkson literally puts their tradition on display. There are display cases throughout the rink showing off the history of Clarkson hockey. I remember a display with jerseys of former Knights in the NHL, and another with an old-fashioned Zamboni. They also have displays on the wall of the rink of All-Americans and other great Clarkson players. I also liked the Green and Gold championship banners in the rafters.

Like RPI, Clarkson also has a skating mascot. They have a skating Golden Knight, dressed in the full knight attire, helmet and all. I still like Puckman better, but the Knight had some pretty good wheels for a guy wearing that bulky equipment.

Functionality and Amenities:
Personally, having the rink attached to the student center is absolutely an ingenious idea. It allows for more space to walk around, and more and better food options. This was one of the first things I thought when I walked into the building. In the student center there were places to sit, as well as a team gift shop. There were plenty of good food options (not just hot dogs and pizza). Also, the dessert stand was unreal! Man, I thought SLU had great cookies, but the Clarkson cookie was one of the best I ever had. Inside the rink, there was a spacious concourse and seats with seat backs (which is something my Dad has taught me to appreciate). There were also other food stands on the concourse. Also, being a former media member, I really appreciated how spacious the press box was. There was tons of walking room and it was right up the middle of the ice.

Other Thoughts:
One unique feature to the rink was the projector screens in the upper corners of the rink, which showed the game, and was also used as a Jumbotron. The scoreboard doesn't have a video screen, so I thought this was a creative way of having one. It wasn't the best, but it did the job.

Building-wise, Cheel is my favorite ECAC rink so far. It's nice and clean, has great food, plenty of Clarkson memorabilia to look at, a good seating situation, and a good atmosphere. While there wasn't that "buzzing" sound, the fans were plenty loud when they needed to be.

Here are some pictures I took:

Cheel. I love the big "Golden Knights" acros the front of it.

I also like the individual banners, instead of just of just one big one. I guess I saw it in Mighty Ducks 3 and loved it ever since.

Cheel also has a nice big center scoreboard.

This is where the pep band sits. I took this picture before the game, so it's not that full. You also got to love the sign "Home of Lord Stanley's Golden Knights." That Green & Gold lettering can be seen throughout the rink.