The People's Choice

We couldn't decide on a winner for our caption contest, so we leave it to you... the loyal WaP readership, to decide which caption fits best for our goofy yet very real picture.

Pouring It On

OK, WaP offseason break over.

Tomorrow begins our 21-part Summer Cooler series called "Know Your Enemy." Every Wednesday, we will focus on one of the Engineers' opponents in the upcoming year - 10 non-conference opponents, and 11 ECAC foes. Tomorrow's entry is one of only four teams in all of Division I that the Engineers have never faced before.

In the meantime... enjoy this little giggler, spotted by eagle-eyed friend of the site James Lauser in downtown Albany yesterday. Amazingly, this is a real thing, not Photoshopped in the slightest. Honest.



Consider this the first ever Without a Peer caption contest! Feel free to try your hand at captioning this picture, just leave a comment on this posting. The winner(s) will be revealed next week.

If You Build It, They Will Come

With the women's exhibition game taking place at the Field House today (an 8-3 RPI win - recap will be up tomorrow), we had an opportunity to take some new photos of the construction in progress. We forgot to grab a photo of the front facade, but it's still under construction along with the reconstruction of the circular driveway in front of the box office. All told, it doesn't look like the construction is anywhere near done, and we'll probably be looking at at least a few weeks of working around it for games in Troy.

Click any thumbnail for a larger version.

When we last had a look inside HFH, the new structure in Section 1's place was basically a bunch of steel, with no real defining characteristics to demonstrate what the finished product would look like. It's now pretty easy to see what's in store for the west end of the rink, and already it looks good.

You can see the large VIP area in the center of the upper floor, along with what look like smaller boxes or similar rooms flanking on either side. You can see the existing exterior doors in the background on the left and center of the photo.

The green box coming out the top left of this photo is the elevator shaft that will serve the upper floor. The stairs are far to the left near the concession stand, out of the view of this shot. An angled front wall and overhanging floor platform project the VIP seating area out toward the ice - it looks like there will be two rows of seats in the front of that platform based on the tiered concrete that's there.

From a distance, the new new structure does a great job filling the void between the corner sections. It really adds something to the view on the west end of the rink, and surprisingly goes a long way toward making the Field House look much more modern, even while all this work is unfinished. While there's nothing built above this area yet, it looks like prime real estate for a future relocated press area.

The new lighting is about 90% complete, with just one row of lights at center ice left to be replaced. Coupled with the new paint job on the structure and the natural light from the west windows, the rink is much brighter overall, as are the seats. The color of the new fixtures and lamps is also much improved over the old ones, so the Poly's photographers should be able to stop having nightmares about shooting at HFH.

Another look at the east end of the rink where the stage once stood. The band will be in section 13 for at least the first half of the season, in the red seats to the far right near the column in the photo above. If the stage returns at all, it won't be until December once all construction is completely buttoned up and no more equipment needs to come and go from the large roll-up door in the center of the east wall of HFH.

As the afternoon wore on, the sun started to drop to the west and we saw some glare in the building. Most of the window area was covered by translucent plastic due to the construction - the sun you see is coming from the areas that weren't covered. We'd be surprised if there's not some sort of covering installed in the finished product to let light in without the glare for afternoon games.

A shot of the scoreboard and north side after the final buzzer of RPI's 8-3 win. Notice the big streak of light hitting the seats on the north side - this was from a roughly 6x6 foot patch of uncovered glass near the top corner of the west wall. If all the glass was uncovered, most of the north stands and much of the ice would likely have been washed in a similar glare.

As we can see, construction has come a long way since we last had a glimpse inside the Field House, but there's a lot left to be done. While most will be able to see the progress for themselves in the coming weeks, we'll keep you updated with periodic photos as construction nears completion.

Every Picture Tells a Story

We're coming up on Labor Day weekend, and even though it may not feel like it outside just yet, we're just three weeks away from hockey at Houston Field House when the women take on the University of Montreal in an exhibition game at 4 p.m. on September 25th ahead of their trip to Wisconsin the following weekend. A week later, the men take part in the Cherry and White intrasquad scrimmage on October 2nd at 4 p.m., to be followed at 7 p.m. by an AHL preseason game between the Adirondack Phantoms and the Albany Devils. Three days after that, on Tuesday, October 5th 7 p.m., the men will face the University of New Brunswick in an exhibition matchup ahead of their trip to Colorado the following weekend.

In the meantime, renovations continue apace at the Field House. We've got some pictures.


This is the first picture we've seen of the new section with the lights on in the Field House. According to what we've found out about the project, the floor level will indeed contain some Let's Go Red space and a mini "Hall of Fame" type area. The second level will house men's hockey offices on one side, women's hockey offices on the other side, and in the middle will be a reception room for Dr. Jackson and her guests, high rollers, donors, recruits, etc.

There are plans for a third level, which may include additional press space, but this will not be included as part of this project at present.



The east side of the Field House is starting to look a little more familiar as the dashers have now been put up on that side, but it's still sans glass. There's still no stage - and there isn't going to be, apparently. The current plan is to put the Pep Band at the top of Section 13 on the north side of the Field House instead of on stage, and the eastern curtain will be moved closer to the glass. The goal is to create a more "intimate" feeling within the Field House, but we'll see just how well it works in a month's time. There are a number of issues for the band especially, having to arrange themselves in the stands.

The old scoreboard is right back up where it normally is. There's been some conflicting reports as to whether it is going to be replaced mid-season (along with the sound system) or whether the replacement will wait until the next offseason, but the components themselves should arrive before the end of the year.

The mid-season replacement may be what's going to happen - according to the site manager, the building will have ice and be habitable for sporting events by the time scheduled events begin again in three weeks, but the renovations themselves will not be completed until December.

With the Field House still lacking in ice, the captains have had to move their practices to Knickerbacker Arena in North Troy.



Here's John Kennedy (center, no helmet) giving the team a pep talk at the end of practice. Visible on the right in the goalie pads and black sweater without a helmet is Jeremy Coupal, the Engineers' new practice goaltender. He replaces Joe Harkenrider, who left the team to focus on his studies, as the 3rd goaltender.

Coupal, a junior Materials Engineering major, started eight games for the RPI club team last season, amassing a 2-6-0 record with a 4.22 GAA and .872 save percentage, with one shutout against Norwich. Before coming to RPI, Coupal was at one point was the starting goaltender at Seton Catholic High School in Plattsburgh. Former RPI practice goalie Jim Palmer, one of the most popular fan favorites in recent history, also attended Seton Catholic, as did former defenseman Glenn Coupal (who is likely related to Jeremy, but we won't know for sure until his RPI biography is released).

Speaking of the club team, the Engineers will have all 14 of their home games at Houston Field House this year, starting on September 24th at 7 p.m. when they host Union. The club team will also host Brown, Merrimack, Quinnipiac, Hudson Valley CC, Roger Williams, Keene State, Westfield State, UConn, Marist, NYU, Vermont, and Norwich this season.

The women are also hard at work at "The Knick." Below, the team takes a few shots on senior goaltender Sonja van der Bliek.



Finally, a quick video of the women taking a few shots.

Renovation: The Saga Continues

As the summer continues, so do the renovations to Houston Field House. We first chronicled in picture some of the construction underway back in mid-July. A few weeks later, we got another chance to go through and take a look at how far along the process has gotten on the inside. The natural lighting, for one, has improved dramatically, so some of these pictures are going to be a lot more clear than they were the last time.

Thanks again to John Crawford for the pictures.


Here, we can see that the front end has been fully opened up and now, and looks to be waiting for the glass to be put into place. The front circle in front of the Field House has been closed off to traffic, including the path over to Harkness Field, which at present is only accessible by going around behind the Field House near ECAV.




Much of the clutter behind the Field House is gone, a lot of it put back inside now. What's left is probably some stuff that's going to get tossed out. This row of ad space that hung beneath the catwalk was rarely, if ever, used for anything but the Rensselaer logo, and it's still sitting outside.


An assortment of other junk also sits behind the Field House. It looks as though they've done a pretty clean sweep of stuff that was either old, outdated, or superfluous.



As you can see, the interior of the Field House is done being painted, and the tarps have been removed from the seating sections and the rink surface. That has allowed for a lot of the stuff that was stored outside, including the Zambonis and the glass, to be moved back into the Field House. Notable in this picture is the lack of a stage on the eastern end, it has not been put back together yet. From what we're hearing, it doesn't look like there are any plans to have it raised higher above the glass when it is.

Also notable in this picture (which faces the press box and the north side) is the natural light coming in from the west.



The superstructure for the suites that are being constructed in Section 1's former location is coming along nicely and is better seen in this picture than we got last time. You can see generally what it's going to look like, now, nestled between Section 2 and Section 21.


The current state of the Field House viewed from Section 2. As you can see, the old scoreboard is back in place. According to what I've heard, it's either a mockup for the new scoreboard with video boards, or it will be used for one more season. The reason for the latter would be related to the sound system in the Field House, which is a little substandard to get good use out of the video boards, and there isn't enough time left before the season to get that taken care of. If that is the case, it may be pushed back to next year.


A look toward the concession area in the southwest corner of the Field House. It is being reconfigured to accommodate the entrance staircase to the suites.


Another look at the concession stand. I'm not quite sure exactly what the new configuration is going to be, but you can tell by the picture that they are putting something different in place.

A look down toward ice level from the stairs near Section 44. Still no curtain, obviously, and definitely some more work left to be done on this side.


The dasher borders are all that remains to separate the refrigeration surface from the area behind the eastern net area. Looks odd without the stage there.


Finally, a look at the goal horn on the ceiling offers a good look at the newly painted rafters. The lighting, while still using metal halide lamps, appears to also be a little different - at any rate, the lighting system was due to be replaced anyway. We'll have to see what it looks like with the lights on to be sure. The newly brilliant white ceiling will reflect that light better regardless.

Renovate This

This week, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to take a guided tour of the Houston Field House, which is in the middle of its renovation process. The place is a mess, but it's a construction site - and given that I grew up on construction sites, I'm used to them being a mess. Parts of the interior are certainly easily identifiable, but other parts are very different now... as you'll see shortly.

Hat tip to John Crawford for the pictures.



The exterior. As you can see, the reintroduction of the exterior windows is well underway...

...but not yet finished. The right side of the wall still needs to be torn out.


The circle in front of the Field House is looking drastically different as well, since all of the trees within it have been taken down. This will allow for a majestic view of the Field House as one progresses east up Peoples Avenue in the winter time.


Here's a view of the South Side (looking east), looking about as loud and lively as it is on a typical game night.



Facing the eastern wall and the North Side. As you can see, the eastern curtain is gone, making the building seem a lot more like the warehouse that it originally was. The other glaring omission is the center scoreboard - it is indeed gone. If it had been staying, it probably would have been lowered for the painting of the rafters (our guide mentioned that they found some 30-40 pucks sitting on the I-beams in the ceiling, players like to throw them up there to see if they can get them stuck during practice), then covered and raised to the top for construction. As it is, unless it's been completely disassembled and hidden, it's no longer on the premises.

All of the ECAC team banners and Rensselaer banners in the rafters are gone, as are, naturally, the championship banners and Ring of Honor banners that were hanging on the western wall (along with the giant RPI seal) since that wall is now going to have windows to the outside. As far as I know, they haven't made a decision on exactly where those banners are going, but given their size I suspect they are going to have to make some newer, possibly smaller ones to be hung in the rafters.

The catwalks are staying in place, and they have also been repainted. The lighting situation is also set to be improved, although it appears they will still use metal halide lamps, the new paint and new lights will hopefully make the interior considerably brighter. Hopefully, they got the Lighting Research Center involved in perfecting the situation.



It was much more difficult to get a good picture of the new structure being built in the former location of Section 1, thanks to the present lighting situation in the Field House, which makes most of the building dark with the exception of the natural sunlight that the open western wall is providing, but this is underneath said structure looking toward the front doors that lead into the lobby (which we didn't get a look at). The "Alumni in the NHL" and "All-Americans" display has been removed - sadly, it was never updated after it was first installed in the early 2000s, but I'm told it will be replaced with an even more majestic display.

As to the structure itself, it will house the Field House's new luxury suites and will absolutely be a defining feature of the new layout.



This is a better picture of what the structure looks like, but as you can see the lighting difference from the interior to the natural light made it really difficult to get a decent shot - this is probably the best look at it.



Here's another one.




Behind the Field House, lots of odds and ends. Both zambonis and the forklift, which are typically parked inside, must now sit outside. The various staging (including the band's stage) and stairways used during concerts are now also sitting outside since their storage space is currently being occupied. Some of the dashers are also being stored out here.

All in all, it's obvious that work is well underway on the renovations, and it certainly looks like the Field House is going to look better than it has in ages. They're hoping to have everything taken care of by the end of August, and I guarantee we'll have some pictures of the finished product on or before September 1st as long as they meet their deadline.