Prominence on campus has not been an unfamiliar trait for Illini Hockey teams over the past three seasons. Illinois was 16-5-2 at home in 2016-17 and was swept only once (by Iowa State) at the rink dubbed “The Big Pond.” Some players attribute the team’s triumphs in Champaign to the electric crowd atmosphere not found in most ACHA Division I hotbeds.
Others will point out the obvious: the rink is bigger.
The dimensions for the University of Illinois Ice Arena are so that they accommodate speed skating as well as hockey. Opened in 1931, the ice surface is 192 feet by 115 feet, 30 feet wider than the average NHL rink.