Michigan Wolverines

Yost Ice Arena (originally known as Fielding H. Yost Fieldhouse) was opened in January 1923 and didn’t actually host any hockey for the first 50 years of its life. It was home to the university’s basketball team until 1967 and also hosted track teams until 1973 when it was finally converted into a hockey rink to become home of the men’s team who remain to this day. The building has undergone many renovations over the decades to the point that the arena bowl itself (which is actually four separate front facing grandstands) feels much newer, but the bones of the building itself still feel every bit of the century old that it is. Much like similarly aged buildings that have been kept alive through renovations like Coca Cola Coliseum in Toronto or the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.

Yost was my introduction into live NCAA hockey. NCAA is a level of hockey I have not been interested in much over the years but in January 2013 with the Brampton Battalion spending the two previous night’s playing in nearby Windsor and Plymouth I was convinced to check it out with a group of friends. I was immediately blown away by the atmosphere. I had never attended a US college/university sporting event before but knew of the intensity of most crowds. We sat just adjacent to the band and student section, and I was very entertained all night by their chants and the band playing. It’s such a different vibe than what I was used to in the CHL. However, the hockey on the ice itself left a lot to be desired. We watched a mostly snoozer game that saw visiting Alaska beat the Wolverines 4-1. A Wolverines team that featured future NHL star Jacob Truba. Yet I just wasn’t impressed by the level of play. As cool as the arena and atmosphere was I felt like the game itself set me back on pursing any more live NCAA action for a long time as I showed no further interest. A few years later a friend tried to get me to go to a game at Michigan State and I wasn’t exactly jazzed about it, and I was all too ready to pull the plug on said trip when nasty weather rolled in. While not going due to said weather was the right call for safety I do now wish I had gotten the chance to go. While a second NCAA game over a decade later at Matthews Arena didn’t prove any better of an on ice product I am much more open these days to go to more NCAA games in awesome arenas with great atmospheres, especially with the influx of CHL talent into the NCAA which seemed like a pipe dream back in 2013. Unfortunately, the current political climate between Canada and the US means I don’t have any immediate plans to hit more NCAA hockey but one day I want to see a lot more. Included in that would be a return trip to Yost with fresh eyes and hopefully better arena photos for this page, and even an exterior shot!