The other day, my Avs fan buddy Hersh posted this on twitter:

https://twitter.com/hersh_65/status/548562863934017536

So I asked him what he meant.

https://twitter.com/HERSH_65/status/548565067008995328

https://twitter.com/HERSH_65/status/548565427958210561

https://twitter.com/HERSH_65/status/548566287928922113

You know I agree with him.  Part of why I love my travels and these travel posts is the variety of venues and experiences the game has.  It’s the same sport, but the rink can change how you see the game, how the game affects you, and how your “fandom” is shaped.  I’ve lamented the cookie-cutter nature of the modern venue, and I’m going to do it again in the next travel post.

There is something about going to the War Memorial for a game that harkens back to “old-time hockey,” even if the game on the ice has moved on.   When you walk into the McMorran Place Arena in Port Huron, MI, you know hockey has been played there, games that meant something to the people on the ice and in the stands, years before you came through.  The quirkiness of Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo or Hara Arena in Dayton add to the game, even if it seems like it would take away from it.

And so does the home of the Soo Eagles, in Sault Ste. Marie, MI.  Don’t confuse this with the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL.  There are two Sault Ste. Maries, one in Canada and one in the US, facing off across the St. Mary’s River and the Soo Locks.  This one is firmly planted in the USA.

Welcome to Pullar Stadium.

Let’s be fair.  Calling this a stadium is like calling my old apartment in Denver a luxury suite.  Stadium may be technically accurate, but it isn’t big enough to own that sort of title.  This is a rink.

And it feels like a rink.  It’s small, but bigger than the arena in Janesville, WI.  It has a lot of character.  There isn’t much in the way of amenities, but that’s not a bad thing, as we will soon see.  No luxury boxes, no video screen, and you get the impression that asking the fans about these omissions would get you laughed at.  It doesn’t need those things.  They would just get in the way of the hockey.

It feels homey.  It’s a place you could come to and feel like it’s your rink, like this is your place.  This is the kind of place I imagine when I hear about Canadian hockey moms taking their kids to the rink at six in the morning.

It feels like hockey.

It’s also very quirky.  For example, entering the stands from below.

The stairs pop up in the front row of seating.

The hallway under the bleachers lead you around the ice, but you can only walk around one side and the ends of the arena.  The locker rooms take up the bench side of the rink.  You have to go through the stands if you want to get around that side of the rink.

See the stairs that lead from the seating area to the benches?  The visitors had security guards at their bench, but I can’t imagine anything happening in this rink.  It feels too cozy and nice to have any shenanigans going on.

Also, the benches are separated from each other by the neutral zone.  They start inside the blue line and extend towards the goal line.  You can see how close the face-off circle is to the near end of the bench.  It’s a lot like Dayton in that respect.  The second period long change is very long here.

Tickets were general admission and dirt cheap.  There is one stand for concessions and another for beer sales.  The team merchandise store is practically a closet.

The angled panels above the benches are the underside of the seating area of the rink.  They look like they were added later.  Why do I say that?

 

Oh, no reason.

The lobby.  There are some great pictures in the display cases by the doors.

Trophies.

Another weird thing was the penalty boxes.  For the visitors, they simply stepped in the box and sat down.  For the Soo players, they open the door, step in, take a left, walk several steps, then sit down. It’s a little hard to describe.  You can see what I mean.  Look at where the door on the right is versus the players sitting in the penalty box.  It’s even labeled as such.

The fans can walk down the steps from the stands to the penalty boxes and chat with a player.  I didn’t see it happen, but there is no separation from the players and the stands.  Note what looks like a security guard at the Tomahawk’s box.

Stick around until the end for the last quirky thing about this rink, something I have never seen before.

Enough of this jibber-jabber.  The teams are taking the ice (photo credit to Meg for this one):

Action!

 

Note the guy walking by the action.  The seating is that high.

The steps down to the penalty box.

At intermission, they honored the local students of the month.  Note the height of the mascot.

We moved to the other side for the second and third periods. Action!

In the second period, Johnstown’s goalie, Ryan Bednard, suffered an equipment issue.  His mask broke and he couldn’t fix it quickly.  He came to the bench and got the backup goalies mask.  That didn’t fit, so he was subbed out until it could be repaired.

The backup, Andy Lee, got set in net, the puck dropped and the Soo Eagles scored on him.  Shortly after that, Bednard returned to the net.  Looking at the NAHL stats, Lee hasn’t played a game since.

More action! That’s a goal.

Snack time. Yes, there are deals to be had here. And POUTINE!?!?!?  I missed this before!  What a fool I am!

Let’s head back to the game.  Yeah, I know, you don’t need to see more stairs, but it’s so weird.

Action!

Hey, this doesn’t look very sporting.

This looks alright.

The third period got chippy, but there were no fighting majors handed out.

This game had it all, including a penalty shot.

Glove save.

We headed to overtime and with 51 seconds left, the Soo Eagles put one away on the power play.  The final, Soo Eagles 2, Johnstown Tomahawks 1.  The game sheet is here.  Had it not been for the equipment issue of the starting goalie, this could have been a 1-0 shutout for the visitors.

The last strange thing about this rink has to do with the Zamboni.  This wasn’t your typical ice scrape.  Everything looks normal until the guy with the shovel comes out and heads to the end of the rink.

Then he opens a little door.

The Zamboni finishes it’s scrape and heads to the end of the rink.  The scraper is lifted and the back towel is removed.

The Zamboni drives away, leaving the slush behind, and the guy shovels it into the door in the boards.

The Zamboni drives back to its entrance and then BACKS IN.  Also, did you notice the doors open towards the rink, and not away?

Like I said, it’s strange.

I highly recommend heading to the Soo to see a game.  It’s not the first winter vacation destination you could come up with, but Pullar Stadium is the perfect argument for seeing a game outside the NHL stadium system.  It’s hockey at its core, no bells and whistles.  Just a game, right there in front of you.  Nothing to get in the way.

Don’t worry about the lack of amenities.  You won’t miss them.