Small venue spirit lives on between ASU Men’s Hockey, Denver

(Photo: Joey Plishka/WCSN)

TEMPE – History often repeats itself, as is the case for the unique settings in which Arizona State Men’s Hockey and the University of Denver’s respective programs began.

ASU is seemingly following in the footsteps of what has become a college hockey giant.

In 1947, Ellison Ketchum, then-DU’s athletic director, shipped a US Naval drill hall used in World War II to campus.

“It was an old naval air hangar that was no longer being used,” former DU head coach George Gwozdecky said. “It was somewhere in Idaho. When DU finally decided to purchase it, it was dismantled in Idaho, put on a big flatbed railroad car, and shipped to Denver.”

Ketchum later named the former drill hall the DU Arena, where the Pioneers played hockey for nearly 50 years from 1949-1997.

Certainly, it was a unique setting to play Division I hockey in.

“The boards and glass didn’t follow a straight line from end to end,” Gwozdecky said. “It was like a snake. The glass, especially on one end, you could never fire a puck around the glass and have it come out without hitting a stanchion and bouncing right out to the middle of the ice surface.

“I guess that would’ve been a home-ice advantage.”

ASU is accustom to an untraditional feel at its home games. In 2015, the Sun Devils embarked on their first season playing exclusively in the NCAA’s Division I. During that time, they’ve played all their home games at Oceanside Ice Arena – a youth hockey venue that holds less than 1,000 people and was built in the 1970s.

“To be able to come here and play college hockey at Oceanside, I mean a lot of people look down on it, but I think it’s a huge privilege,” ASU senior forward Johnny Walker said.

In each case, it’s a place that has left unforgettable memories in the minds of players, coaches, and fans.

“We will always have a connection to this place,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “Personally, I will too.”

While these venues bring fond recollections, each offers specific features that are unique to ASU and DU programs’ history.

“Once [the DU arena] was built, they started adding things to the inside,” Gwozdecky said. “The rainbow was added to the north wall. I’m not exactly sure why other than just to make it look a little more attractive. There was no seating on the north end of the facility and that’s where the rainbow was. They [just] painted this large rainbow on that big north wall.”

Gwozdecky also mentioned that before he served as head coach, a scaffolding hung from the ceiling against the north wall where the DU pep band used to perform during games.

“That pep band bounced on that scaffolding just behind the netting overlooking the home team bench,” he said. “The pep band was unmerciful on the visiting goaltender.”

As for ASU, Oceanside brings its own interesting factors. The press box is essentially in the rafters of the arena, which hang no more than 30 feet high. It’s possible for media to hear every word said on the ice and bench –words that sometime trend among the less friendly in the English language.

Just like DU, ASU’s rink has its own painted wall to make it feel more like home. Across from the press box, a pitchfork lays in between the words ‘ASU’ and ‘Sun Devils.’

But for ASU, these peculiar features don’t deter the rink.

“You saw how excited we get when we score [at Oceanside],” Walker said. “It’s awesome to be able to build off that crowd. The rink is going to be great next year, but we are going to miss playing at Oceanside, for sure.”

ASU’s barn is also home to several pucks stuck inside the net that hangs from the ceiling.

It’s fascinating that the two western schools began their hockey programs in such a humble setting, but perhaps the most interesting connection is the path each team set to turn down when they were done playing there.

The Pioneers said farewell to their iconic arena in the late ‘1990s.

Despite their love for it, it had its drawbacks.

“We were losing ground because our building was not very nice,” Gwozdecky said. “It wasn’t very comfortable for the fans. Certainly, it wasn’t a very impressive facility for recruits. I remember the day when they finally shut the building down. We knew we were going to have to play off-campus for the better part of two seasons before the new facility was done.

“At the time, it was like, ‘Good riddance.’”

The next two seasons made them miss the former naval drill hall, however. Playing off-campus seemingly didn’t seem to work in DU’s advantage either.

“For two years, we were the wandering nomads,” Gwozdecky said. “It was definitely a challenge because we didn’t have a lot of people at our games and half the time people didn’t know when we were playing, so we came to miss having the old building, as strange as that sounds.”

ASU is much more fortunate. The Sun Devils’ new $115 million arena is scheduled to open in December of 2022.

While DU obtained higher levels of success in its first barn – it won five national championships in the drill hall – ASU may have an upper hand moving forward.

“[It’s] a game-changer for the program,” Powers said.

Despite those five rings playing at DU Arena, the athletic department couldn’t find the funds until 1999 to build Magness Arena.

“Dan Richie became the chancellor [at DU] and was able to raise significant amounts of, millions and millions, of dollars, much of which he gave on his own,” Gwozdecky said. “His financial commitment to the university, along with many of his friends and former business partners, really was the thing that completely turned campus around.”

DU had relative success when it was homeless, making the NCAA Tournament twice. But the Pioneers were able rekindle their prior spark once moving into Magness – the program has won three national titles, five Frozen Fours and 15 tournaments since.

In contrast to DU’s attitude towards its old arena, ASU is rather fond of its rink. The Sun Devils have cherished their time at Oceanside.

“I know for us, we have some unfinished business here,” junior defenseman Jacob Semik said before the season. “We didn’t get to play in this barn last year at all, and my freshman year we got to and we were really successful, so we are looking forward to it. One last go-out.”

ASU’s grateful and tenacious spirit has treated it well in Oceanside. This season, the Sun Devils are 6-4 at home, and earned a win over No. 20 ranked Bemidji State last Friday. As ASU’s program grows up, moves out and seeks to find success similar to the Pioneers’ in a new place, Powers doesn’t want them to forget that part of their identity.

“[Oceanside] has been great to us,” Powers said. “We’ve been good to it.”