Matthews Arena farewell: Readers’ most-loved moments

Readers Say

The city’s oldest indoor rink will host its final game on Friday.

Matthews Arena, the oldest active hockey rink in the world, will host its final game Saturday night.

Northeastern University’s men’s hockey team will play Boston University at 7 p.m. in a sold-out game that marks the end of more than a century of history inside Matthews Arena.

Built in 1910 when it was the Boston Arena, the rink was designed to give local college and professional teams year-round ice. Before its construction, Boston hockey teams played exclusively outdoors and were forced to play only away games when other cities introduced indoor ice facilities. With the area’s only artificial ice, Boston Arena was booked around the clock. Some nights, games were double-scheduled, two teams would skate the first period of their game, followed by another pair playing theirs.

The arena became the birthplace of Boston’s pro sports scene — it’s where both the Boston Bruins and Celtics got their start. It’s also home to Boston’s rich collegiate hockey history, with all four Beanpot schools once calling the arena home. Beyond sports, it also served as a major cultural venue hosting graduations, presidential visits, and concerts by famous musicians.

Northeastern purchased the building in 1979 and renamed it Matthews Arena. Over its 115-year history, it has been through two fires, numerous renovations, and generations of fans. This winter, however, it will be torn down for good. Northeastern will build in its place a new state-of-the-art athletic facility scheduled to open in 2028.

For many, Matthews Arena is tied to some of their fondest memories in the city. Boston.com asked readers to share their favorite moments inside the historic barn.

“Ever since I was born, me and my grandfather would go into Matthews Arena every Friday and enjoy a hot dog, sit in the front row of the balcony, and enjoy college hockey. I am absolutely heartbroken that this arena is being torn down. The rich history in that building deserves to be preserved. It was the original home of the Bruins. It was the home of Reggie Lewis. I will always have the memories of me and my grandfather going to the games taking a picture with some of the players after the games or even getting a game-used hockey stick from one of the players. It was a great atmosphere unlike any other arena in sports and that’s what made it special. You were able to walk downstairs and walk right by the players’ locker rooms and the Zamboni to leave the facility, almost like having a free backstage pass, because of that Matthew Arena has a very intimate setting. You are more than just a fan.” – Christopher C. from Wells, Maine

“My brother, cousins, and I went to [a] Northeastern hockey game in middle school. It was free giveaway of [Surge] soft drink. We ran around the stadium collecting hundreds nobody wanted it. Huskies upset top-ranked BU and the four of us made it rain turning the ice green” – Mike L. from Braintree

“I graduated in the fall of 1982 from Northeastern and the late graduation ceremonies were held in Matthews Arena. Prior to the renovation it was like going back in time in the old Boston Arena. You could still smell 70 years of cigar smoke.” – Jim H. from Bridgewater

“My favorite and only memory of Matthews Arena happened when Bill Clinton came to a rally there as part of his ‘farewell tour’ at the end of his 2nd term. I was there because my daughter’s Brandeis vocal group was performing, so we got to stand right by the rope line in front of the stage. The twin highlights were seeing my daughter perform to a very enthusiastic crowd, despite Clinton running late in New Hampshire, and then the speech from the soon to be former president. I know this is going to sound like BS, and I tend to be a pretty skeptical person, but everyone I spoke to from our group had the same reaction-they felt the president had looked them in the eye, and spoken directly to them.” – Richard G. from Springfield

“I graduated from Weymouth High School in 1969 and enrolled at Northeastern the next year. My father took me to the state high school hockey tournament games every year where we sat above the end where the Zamboni came out, I played hockey for Weymouth High’s hockey team under coach Bill Dempsey Sr. we had good teams but the old South Shore league was strong so we never ‘qualified’ for the tournament. Thanks to coach Tinker Connelly I enrolled at Northeastern the next year and played on the freshman team. My sophomore year, I joined the varsity [team] under Coach Flaman. That year Chuck Toomey, General Manager, hired me to work there. I worked for Bucky Mercerio, who ran the maintenance end. Mr. Toomey also asked if I would like to live in the office area which was in the old gym area above the boiler room free of charge. I lived there for two years and loved every minute of it. The income got me through school. The Boston Arena was such a great part of my life, never to be forgotten!!” – Bill D. from Milton, Fla.

“In addition to every UMass Amherst victory I witnessed, especially from the front row of the balcony, my favorite memory is the Phish concert from 12/31/1992. A general admission show celebrated by the original phans, we all had a blast and ‘little’ did we know how this show would serve as a springboard for the band we still love today. Thank you, Matthews Arena. How about one more hockey game vs. UMass Minutemen??” – Myked from Amherst Valley

“I will always remember the first hockey game when the balcony was re-opened against Boston College. It came after the BC basketball point shaving reveal and a whole section held up Bic razors and chanted ‘Shave those points!’ during the game. It was great.” – Gerald H. from Jamaica Plain

“I played in goal for the Northeastern Men’s hockey team for two seasons from 1975 to 1977. My fondest memory was starting my first game in goal as a freshman against Boston University. We lost 4-3, and I had 43 shots on goal. In the third period, I stopped Mike Eruzione on a breakaway to keep the game close. Another memory was that during the 76-77 season, the balcony was closed because, I believe, it was unsafe.” – Jim M. from Avon, Minn.

“I was a freshman at NU in 1982 and attended the hockey game against Bowling Green that the Huskies won in OT to send them to what is now called the Frozen Four. I remember streamers being thrown on the ice and the thrill of us finally making it to the Frozen Four.” – Barry L. from Minneapolis, Minn.

“So many over the decades, but a quirky one from my sophomore year in 1978. Northeastern was playing an exhibition game against the Boston Bruins, and for some reason the Huskies started throwing heavy bodychecks against the surprised pros. When future NHL [player] Chris Nilan took a run at Bruins’ gentlemanly star Jean Ratelle, Bruins captain Wayne Cashman — renowned as the best fighter in the NHL — took exception, and delivered a beatdown on Nilan.” – Anonymous

“Covering the old GBL High School Hockey Games for 6 hours on Saturday my high school newspaper and indulging in the best french fries at the concession stand.” – Matthew S from Overland Park

“Meeting and skating with Bobby Orr at a charity event in the 90s AND playing against Boston Latin High School hockey. Both were cool experiences.” – Chris C. from North Andover

“The ‘Surge’ game OT win vs. BU in 97 or 98. Surge (a hyped up Mountain Dew type of drink) was giving out bottles of soda that night. It had been a while since we beat BU and we played them tough, got to OT and won. After the winning goal, everyone was throwing their open Surge bottles on the ice to celebrate. In short order, the ice was minty green and we all left happy – well except for BU fans, haha!!” – James from Norton

Responses have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.