Tag: Harvard Crimson

First hockey game in rebuilt Boston Arena Jan 8, 1921 The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com

The original Boston Arena burned down to the ground in December 1918. It took a little more than three years to reconstruct the arena before the grand opening or re-opening, depending on how you look at it. Harvard’s freshmen and varsity teams hosted the first two games in 1910. This time, MIT was the inaugural host in the rebuilt Boston Arena when the team from Massachusetts welcomed its neighbors from the north, King’s College.

The Engineers agreed to play six-man hockey against their Canadian brethren on Friday, January 7, 1921. The team from Windsor, Nova Scotia, had been playing that type of hockey for the past six years. It was later noted after the game that it was the first time six-man hockey was played on a large ice surface in the city of Boston. In this season opener for MIT, the Engineers lost steam at the end of the game and King’s College pulled away with a 4-3 victory after scoring the game-winning goal with less than five minutes left in regulation. Tommy Winter sent a bouncing puck that jumped over the goaltender’s stick to win it for King’s College.

King’s College 1920-21 men’s hockey team Jan 4, 1921 The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com

The following night, Harvard opened its season by hosting King’s College in the same venue. But this time it would be a seven-on-seven hockey game. The Crimson refused to switch to six-man hockey so King’s College agreed to play with seven men in their second game of the weekend. The Crimson went undefeated the previous season in league play and were Triangular League champions. Because of this, the Boston Globe all but guaranteed a victory over King’s College that night. The prediction would ring true as 6,500 spectators saw Harvard hand King’s College a 9-1 loss. It set a Boston record at the time for most fans to ever attend a hockey game.

Photo Credit: Featured Photo: The Boston Globe, January 8, 1921. Second Photo: 1920-21 MIT men’s hockey team photo, 1922 Technique Yearbook. Third Photo: 1920-21 King’s College men’s hockey team photo, the Boston Globe, January 4, 1921.

First hockey game at Boston Arena in 1910 Apr 26, 1910 The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com

A much-anticipated arena opened in Boston in April 1910. The first event held at this multi-purpose building was an ice carnival to benefit the Sharon Sanatorium. Skating events were held throughout the afternoon and evening, including children’s races, adult speed skating, and an exhibition from former American figure skating champion Irving Brokaw. One of the afternoon events during this April 25, 1910, carnival was a hockey game between the Harvard Crimson freshmen team and Newton High School. The Crimson shut out Newton High by a score of 4-0. This exhibition game would go down in the record books as the first-ever hockey game played at Boston Arena.

Approximately 1,500 attendees were on hand for the nightcap between the Crimson varsity hockey team and the Crescent Hockey Club. The teams played two 15-minute periods. The only scoring throughout the game was in the first period when Crescent scored. This 1-0 exhibition game would go down in the record books as the first-ever hockey game played by a college varsity team at Boston Arena. The game took place more than two months after the Harvard’s last hockey game when the Crimson had defeated Yale to end the season. The team had alternated playing outside at Harvard Stadium and St. Nicholas Rink in New York City. Harvard finished in second place to Princeton.

First college varsity hockey game at Boston Arena Apr 26, 1910 The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com

Fans would have to wait nearly eight months to witness the first intercollegiate hockey game at Boston Arena. Harvard hosted MIT on December 18, 1910, at the beginning of the 1910-11 season. The Crimson defeated MIT 4-3. Both programs began calling Boston Arena home during this season. Additional college hockey teams would ultimately play home games at Boston Arena. Boston College and Boston University would do so in the inaugural seasons for both programs beginning in the 1917-18 season. In fact, the very first intercollegiate hockey game for both programs was a game where they faced off against one another at the arena February 6, 1918. Unfortunately, the building suffered a catastrophic fire in December 1918. The second iteration of the Boston Arena opened in January 1921. Northeastern first played a hockey game there December 1, 1924, and would ultimately become the tenant of the arena after purchasing it in October 1979. The last game to be played at the historic arena will be December 13, 2025, when the Northeastern men’s hockey team will host Boston University.

Photo Credit: Featured Photo and Second Photo: The Boston Globe, April 26, 1910. Third Photo: 1909 Harvard Crimson men’s varsity hockey team photo, the H book of Harvard athletics 1852-1922. Fouth Photo: Funk and Wilcox architectural concept drawing of Boston Arena.