Best rink in the state?

[YeahhhBuddayyy]

Braemar
Heritage

[RangeHockeyFan1817]

Amsoil arena. Duh. Heritage is nice but the seating sucks the view angles suck and there's usually more ppl standing than sitting

I agree, there are a lot of areas on the ice you can't see from a lot of the seats but it is a beautiful area. One of the best if you get a good seat

[PuckPutz07]

Many of the facilities in the discussion were built as Multi-use facilities, such as Bemidji's new rink.

The facilities that were built specifically for hockey such as Hibbing, Eveleth, Roseau, The Gardens at Warroad, Little Ralph, and so on, have by far the best sight lines and viewing for our sport than many of the rinks being discussed. Tradition is huge, but a hockey rink that is designed for hockey, is a hockey rink! Not a facility that provides OK sightlines from a majotity of it's seats. A fine example is the Civic Center. They even tried to use clear boards because nobody in the first 10 rows could see the rink. Because of it's "multi-use" design the best seats in the house were unsuable. Fine Hockey Facility? Ouch!!

[east hockey]

Amsoil arena. Duh. Heritage is nice but the seating sucks the view angles suck and there's usually more ppl standing than sitting

I agree, there are a lot of areas on the ice you can't see from a lot of the seats but it is a beautiful area. One of the best if you get a good seat

You gotta sit on the "mural" side. On the near side those posts can be a pain if you're standing.

Lee

[BSUBeaver]

Richfield cool place.[main rink]

Always love watching games at Richfield....

I'm kind of surprised no one out there thinks the Ralph Engalstad Arena in Thief River Falls is up there.
As far as Bemidji's new rink I have only seen it once but I liked it alot, but you also have to keep in mind it was built for college hockey not highschool.

The Ralph in Thief River Falls is awesome! As for Bemidji's new complex, it impresses me but doesn't exceed my expectations by any means.

Get a tour of the "rest" of the building -- the part that the general public does not see -- the locker rooms, the weight room, the equipment room, the hallways, the technology..... then you will be impressed....

Agreed about the new facility in Bemidji. The behind the scenes stuff is AWESOME! The Bemidji Pioneer had a photo tour of just the murels that are in the team areas:

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/event/pho ... ry/id/420/

Unfortunitely, a majority of the people will only see the rink and the convention space. You can get a tour of the hockey areas though if you stop in at the offices and the coaching staff is around and not busy. They are very welcoming and love showing off their facility!

[govies]

the old st paul auditorium drew largest crowd ever to watch a hs game govies vs knights..it was carried on national tv ..i am sure the record was broke a long time..it was just a regular game ..most pro's of the day will tell you the met had the best ice in all the nhl..cept the night bill Masterson died

[govies]

the old st paul auditorium drew largest crowd ever to watch a hs game govies vs knights..it was carried on national tv..remember a close friend of mine getting his stick caught in the chicken wire ..i am sure the record was broke a long time..it was just a regular game ..most pro's of the day will tell you the met had the best ice in all the nhl..cept the night bill Masterson died

[PuckPutz07]

The Met Center is fine example of an excellant hockey facility! Great ice, great sign lines, and many fond memories of high school playoffs and tourneys. Some of the finest ice I ever skated on!

[25 sheet power]

No rink in the state comes close to TRF. Lets just end this.

[starmvp]

No rink in the star comes close to TRF. Lets just end this.

[PuckU126]

No rink in the star comes close to TRF. Lets just end this.

[MNHockeyFan]

I vote for the rink where all of our teams want to play their last game of the season.

[F14]

Some of my favorites:

1) Little Ralph
2) Duluth Heritage
3) Grand Rapids
4) Braemar for character
5) Richfield - Love the seats all the way around
6) St. Louis Park - sit high
7) Hibbing - tradition
Bemidji State's new rink
9) Aldrich
10) New Vadnais Heights

[PuckU126]

Some of my favorites:

1) Little Ralph
2) Duluth Heritage
3) Grand Rapids
4) Braemar for character
5) Richfield - Love the seats all the way around
6) St. Louis Park - sit high
7) Hibbing - tradition
Bemidji State's new rink
9) Aldrich
10) New Vadnais Heights

Interesting choice.

[hockeyismypassion93]

I've played all over the northern part of the state and love the Ralph in Thief River Falls. That rink is my favorite.

[Slap Shot]

I always liked going to games at MIA and wish Pagel would have been made with a bit more character.

[nungitchida]

No rink in the state comes close to TRF. Lets just end this.

Aldrich
Roseau
Warroad
Hibbing
I Falls
Bremar
Heritage
just to name a few with lots of tradition in these arena's
just count the state titles in ROSO AND I FALLS looking at all the trophys
plus the atmophere during the games.
Warroad is another alot of tradition more gold metals in that town than any other in the USA,countless section titles a few class A titles and a senior hockey championship that covers all of Canada, Tradition there Ladies and Gentlemen.

The Little Ralph a very nice arena but a bit of an overkill for a high school arena, they could never fill this arena to get a good atmosphere for a hockey game, not alot of tradition hanging around there walls or in there trophy cases. {now lets just end this here}

[BennyBratrud]

Aldrich arena where 4A is played at the best atmosphere when packed maht vs STA last year was unreal