Walker Center (Clarkson University)

Walker Center
Construction


Former names	Clarkson Arena (1938-1975) Walker Arena (1975-1991)
Location	Clarkson Ave. Potsdam, New York 13676
Coordinates	44°39′57″N 74°59′33″W / 44.66583°N 74.99250°W / 44.66583; -74.99250
Owner	Clarkson University
Operator	Clarkson University
Capacity	1,800
Surface	synthetic
Broke ground	1937
Opened	1938 (85–86 years ago)
Closed	1991 (Hockey)
Tenants
Clarkson Golden Knights ice hockey (1938-1991)

The Walker Center (formerly the Clarkson Arena and Walker Arena) is an indoor multipurpose facility located in Potsdam, New York. It was the home of the Clarkson varsity ice hockey team from 1938 to 1991. It is currently used by Clarkson University for a variety of purposes after a $1 million renovation in 2008.^[1]

History

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Ice hockey began at Clarkson in 1921 when Murray Walker organized an ice hockey club for the college. The team became popular and successful enough that the program was formally established in 1935 and an indoor rink was needed to replace the outdoor surface at Ives Park. The Clarkson Arena was completed in 1938 and played home to the ice hockey program for the next 53 years. The building was renovated multiple times, first in 1952 when artificial ice was installed then again in 1971 when heating and additional seats were added.

In 1975 the building was renamed the Murray G. Walker Hockey Arena (known as the Walker Arena) in honor of the father of Clarkson ice hockey.^[2] By the late 1980s the building was beginning to show its age and plans for its replacement soon came to pass. The Walker Arena was sent out on a high note, however, as the 1990–91 men's team won its first conference tournament in 25 years with their two quarterfinal wins being the last games played at the Arena.

After the hockey team transferred to the Cheel Arena The building was renamed the 'Walker Center' and remained mostly disused until a major renovation turned it into a multipurpose facility with a synthetic turf used by the soccer, lacrosse and other field programs.

References

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^ "Clarkson University's Walker Center Renovation Dedicated". Clarkson University. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
^ "Clarkson Walker Arena". New York Heritage. Retrieved March 29, 2019.

External links

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v t e Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey
Playing venues	Ives Park (1920–1923, 1925–1938) Clarkson Rink (1923–1925) Walker Arena (1938–1991) Cheel Arena (1991–Present)
Head coaches	Gordon Croskery (1923–1929) Jack Roos (1929–1948) Bill Harrison (1948–1958) Len Ceglarski (1958–1972) Jerry York (1972–1979) Bill O'Flaherty (1979–1985) Cap Raeder (1985–1988) Mark Morris (1988–2002) Fred Parker (2002–2003) George Roll (2003–2011) Casey Jones (2011–2024) Jean-François Houle (2024–Present)
Seasons	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	Tri-State League 1950–1972 ECAC Hockey (1961–Present)
Rivalries	Rensselaer St. Lawrence
Culture & lore	North Country Thanksgiving Festival
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Dave Taylor (251 Points) Kevin Zappia (103 Goals) Dan Murphy (85 Wins)
Frozen Four appearances	1957 1958 1962 1963 1966 1970 1991
NCAA Tournament appearances	1957 1958 1962 1963 1966 1970 1981 1982 1984 1990 1991 1992 1993 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2007 2008 2018
Conference Tournament titles	1966 1991 1993 1999 2007
Clarkson University Potsdam, NY

v t e ECAC Hockey
Teams	Brown Bears men women Clarkson Golden Knights men women Colgate Raiders men women Cornell Big Red men women Dartmouth Big Green men women Harvard Crimson men women Princeton Tigers men women Quinnipiac Bobcats men women Rensselaer Engineers men women St. Lawrence Saints men women Union Garnet Chargers men women Yale Bulldogs men women
Venues	Meehan Auditorium (Brown) Cheel Arena (Clarkson) Class of 1965 Arena (Colgate) Lynah Rink (Cornell) Thompson Arena (Dartmouth) Bright Hockey Center (Harvard) Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton) M&T Bank Arena (Quinnipiac) Houston Field House (Rensselaer) Appleton Arena (St. Lawrence) Achilles Rink (Union) Ingalls Rink (Yale) Herb Brooks Arena (Men's tournament)
Men's awards	All-ECAC Hockey Team Player of the Year Rookie of the Year Tim Taylor Award (Coach of the Year) Best Defensive Defenseman Best Defensive Forward Ken Dryden Award (Best Goaltender) Student-Athlete of the Year Wayne Dean Sportsmanship Award Most Outstanding Player in Tournament All-Tournament Team
Women's awards	Women's champions
Men's seasons	1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25