Rink Review: Union's Messa Rink at Achilles Center

Next up on Rink Review is a very special place to me: Messa Rink, the home of the Union College Dutchmen. This place was my second home during my four years at Union having worked and played many games at Messa. During my tenure, I attended about 95% of the home games, and played in many club hockey games. This review is based off my many experiences at Messa Rink. I will be as unbiased as possible.

Here is what Wikipedia says about Messa:

The Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center is a 2,225-seat multi-purpose arena in Schenectady, New York. It is home to the Union College Dutchmen ice hockey and Dutchwomen ice hockey teams, members of the ECAC Hockey League. In 2004, it was renovated and renamed Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center. It is named for Frank L. Messa, class of 1973, who is a member of the board of trustees and co-chair of one of the school's main fundraising programs. The building was originally named for the Rev. H. Laurence Achilles, Sr., who was the original benefactor of the arena.

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

Here's my evaluation:

Atmosphere:
Ever since the Dutchmen became one of the better teams in the league, the atmosphere in Messa has become better and better. The rink in Schenectady is now one of the toughest rinks to come to and win the league, which is evident by Union's 22-5-6 record at home over the past two seasons. Since the program is new to winning at the D-1 level, so are the fans. They are slowly learning what it is to be a real college hockey crowd. The student section (Section Q/ The U Crew) is packed every night and have been led by an upperclassman (Will Friedman and Justin Zolot come to mind) each year. These guys lead the chants and wave the Union flag. Some of the classic Union chants are "We are very good... You are not that good," "Hey goalie, your ----- called, and he/she said... you suck," "Let's Go U," etc. While these chants aren't original, they're still ok. The student section has to be a little more unique with their chants in the upcoming years. The one unique chant is during the national anthem when the fans yell "U" at "Oh say, can YOU see."

The rest of the fans are mainly comprised of youth hockey families and elderly people. They aren't your typical college hockey crowd, but they are as loud and into it as possible. Overall, the atmosphere is very good since it's very loud and the rink is buzzing at most games. I think the "buzzing" sound rivals any rink in the league. The crowd is excellent, but inexperienced at this point.

Also, Union has recently added a pep band. I remember seeing them a few seasons ago. They were brutal! But, a few years later, they are definitely improved. They should watch some film of other great college hockey bands, but they're making some progress.

Tradition:
The Union Hockey program dates all the way back to 1903. After about 35 years of play, the program took a hiatus in 1948 before returning under Ned Harkness in 1975, when the Achilles Center was built. After Harkness, the Dutchmen saw some great success in the 80's before becoming a D-1 program in the 1991-1992 season. While this is a good tradition, it really isn't honored too much in the rink (maybe since there was some controversy with Harkness and the team is now D-1). There are pictures of almost every Union team on the wall behind the home net, and a small trophy case in the main lobby with recent trophies, but that's about it. The program honored their first Cleary Cup and NCAA Tournament berth with two large banners on both sides of the scoreboard this season. These are the only banners in the rink. If the program continues to flourish at the D-1 level, I'm sure more tradition will be created at Messa.

I'd also like to note that I like a new thing the Dutchmen are doing this season. During the starting lineups, a selected member from the Schenectady Youth Hockey Association also has his name called and skates out to the blueline. It's a great way to connect with the community and draw more young fans. I hope it continues into the future.

Oh, one more thing. Messa Rink is one of the most historic rinks in all of college hockey since it has hosted the two longest games in NCAA history (I was there for the longest one). They lost to Yale in 2006, and then broke that record when they lost to Quinnipiac in 2010

Functionality and Amenities:
This is definitely an area where the rink is lacking. The lobby is very small, the concourses are tight, the bathrooms are small (some are downstairs), the concessions are limited and are on the opposite side of the rink from the bathrooms (to go from one side of the rink to the other is very difficult in between periods), and the press box is behind the visiting net and is tight. I also dislike how most of the seats in the building are bleachers like in a high school gym. It just looks amateurish. I do like how the seats don't go too high, so there really isn't a bad seat in the house.

Other Thoughts:
People always talk about how awesome the roof is at the Yale Whale, but I never really hear people talk too much about the roof at Messa. Personally, I think it's awesome. It looks really cool and it helps with the acoustics in the rink. To me, it's the best feature of the rink, and one of the best in the league.

Here are some other pictures (some of which I took... I'll add more later):