North Country

A friend and I are considering making the North Country trip next weekend, which we have never done before. The way I figure it, weatherwise, this is the year to do it, as opposed to when the North Country games are scheduled in January or February.

So, what are your recommendations about the trip? How easy or hard will it be to obtain tickets? Where are the better/best places to stay, obviously the cheaper the better? What else is there to do in the area? What's the best route up there? What about cops and speed traps? Basically, what should we do?

Tickets: Get them through the Cornell ticket office if you can. The fans up there are serious about their hockey, and they will, as a general proposition, sell out. (Although a glance at the box scores from the year thus far indicates that they haven't been, so make of that what you will.) Both schools put visiting fans not far from their student sections, which is nice if you're winning and not so nice if you're losing.

Travel: NY-13 -> I-81 -> US-11 is pretty much the only way to get there. It's not such a bad trip; Yahoo Maps says it takes 4:20, but on a good day, it can be done in 3:30, maybe even a little less. I have no particular memory of any specific speed traps, but as a general proposition, I'd say the same thing as is said to people driving into Ithaca on 79: obey the speed limit in small towns.

Lodging: The last couple of times I've made the North Country trip, I've driven up to Ottawa on Friday night. It's about 80 miles from Canton, 90 (through Canton) from Potsdam. Travel time depends on whether Customs decides to detain you for no reason, but can be as quick as 1:15. Hotels up there are plentiful and pretty reasonably-priced thanks to a favorable exchange rate, and there are bars at night and good sightseeing during the day. If you stay in the Canton/Potsdam area... well, you can go see a movie. Also, if you do stay in the area, take a trip to Walker Arena, the former home of Clarkson hockey. It's been converted to an indoor turf field, but the stands are still there, and it gives you a good idea of what it used to be like as a rink.

[Q]If you stay in the Canton/Potsdam area... well, you can go see a movie.[/Q]
Or go to the bar at the Best Western ... okay, there are other bars too.

Or check out the 4 schools in the area (Canton Tech and SUNY Potsdam are also there). Nothing exciting to see, but we looked around to kill some off time last year.

Of course, since it's about an hour away, it's completely possible to stay in Canton/Potsdam and visit Ottawa if you get up at a decent time on Saturday.

[Q]What else is there to do in the area?[/Q]

HaHaHaHa.....That's a good one. I think the North Country might be the most desolate place on earth. Unless you've got your skis with you, you just have to sit and wait for the next game. Although that might have to do with the fact that we stayed up in Massena last year. It's only 20 min north of Potsdam/Canton but feels like an hour, especially in all that snow.
Seriously, though, it's worth the trip. The fans there are great, and except for the damn bell at Cheel, they're great places to watch hockey.

Bell is a miscategorization... it's the loudest damn foghorn there ever was.

Try CHTG.net for more info, though, there's not much. It's still a great trip though, even if you have to kill Saturday afternoon in the hotel room .

The North Country may be desolate, but its home This is an annual thread and it always makes me homesick.

I think you'll love the rustic charm of Appleton Arena. The crowd is usually dead (studen't support isn't that great) but the rink just feels like the kind of place North Country hockey should be played. Cheel on the other hand . . .

Also, be careful on Route 11, especially if it decides to snow.

No, there's also the mindnumbing foghorn, but the bell that came from Walker is possibly more annoying.

The mindnumbing foghorn is irritating in a generic kind of way. The bell is worse, especially since it's NOT generic.

The mind numbing fog horn ain't a fog horn. It's a TRAIN WHISTLE and a damned loud one . I see the Clarkson women got the hockey started on the right skate by beating the Little Red Women 2-1 at Lynah this Saturday. Looking for the men to complete the first half sweep .

Whatever it is, I had to place my ear drums back in their proper position after the game last winter ... and wipe off the blood .

Talking awful big for a team who just lost to RPI, huh vic?

Beating the Cornell women isn't nothing to shout about... what was their playoff games last year again? Like 26-1 Harvard between the two games?

So don't get too happy... unless of course Schwan plans on coming back and taking out Schafer before the game... oh yes, I went there .

All right, should my friend and I choose to go to Ottawa, what are we going to need to cross the border? I don't have a passport, though I could probably get my parents to mail me my birth certificate. I guess a NJ driver's license and a social security card (plus my CUID as a secondary photo ID if necessary) won't be enough?

[Q]I guess a NJ driver's license and a social security card (plus my CUID as a secondary photo ID if necessary) won't be enough?[/Q]
Depends on the mood of the guard. I've heard stories that a license and some backup things is enough. I've also heard stories that a *copy* of your birth certificate isn't enough without calling the hospital, etc.

If you want no hassle, have
a) a passport
b) a license and the *original* birth certificate, with probably other ID to back it up

otherwise, things may take a while.

-Fred

Yep, we did lose to RIP . Got outplayed and outhustled by the Engineers and screwed by the referee. But the next knight we beat Onion with a very strong defensive effort. We have not had any luck lately against Cornell. Clarkson so far basically has only one line scoring this year, Blight, Faulkner and Sullivan. Shut them down (I'm sure Schafer is planning to) and you make things a lot easier on yourselves. We are also a little banged up with injuries on the defense (Grenzy with a high ankle sprain and Curley with a separated shoulder). The thing I am most looking forward to is the banging between the Cornell team and Matt Nickerson . Traylen will probably have to stand on his head to win this one (unless Cornell plans on a trip to the Canton Pizza Hut prior to the game ). I still think Cornell will not run away with this one and I'd be shocked if Vesce got 7 points against Clarkson. I look for this to be a 3-2 or 4-2 (en) game and you never know the knights just might surprise me.

Yep, and it was donated by an alum from the Midwest as I recall...an engineer naturally!

For us long time fans of Tech hockey however, the BELL will always be the thing...just ask Ken Dryden...he remembers.

Is a small chance I'll be there if I can, if only because my HS coaching schedule has me booked every weekend between the next weekend and late Feb.

I recommend any Cornell fans make an effort to locate Ernie Richmond, Clarkson '42, one of Tech's biggest, oldest, and most loyal fans. Just spoke with him today and he and wife Connie are making their annual trek North from NJ this week and staying through Thanksgiving. Ask Scott Smalling, the Cheel arena mrg, whom you can usually find in the Cheel office, to point out Ernie to you. His Tech hockey history is pretty thorough and if you want to hear any of his many, many funny stories about former Tech player, coach, and AD Billy (Flapper) O' Flaherty, just ask him!

What Fred said. It really depends on whether the guard feels like hassling you or not. I've never had more ID on me than a photo driver's license and school ID and have never been turned back at the border. So I wouldn't worry if you don't have a passport, it just might take a little longer to get across.

I'm also looking forward to the O'Byrne/Nickerson love-fest...

I assume Cheel has separate penalty boxes?

*shaking head*

O'Byrne isn't really an enforcer or anything. He's just taking stupid penalties and he's developing this unnecessary reputation all of a sudden....



Post Edited (11-10-03 17:28)

I believe that Nickerson and McKee played together last season in Texas.

Actually, one time I came back from Canada to the US (via ferry from Victoria, BC) and I think having a passport caused more trouble than it helped. It made the US border guard check me out more closely.
Then again, my passport has been expanded twice and contains stamps from Russia, Egypt, Jordan, India and China among others.

In all likelihood, having a "normal" passport will expedite things.

JH

More on those penalties (am I furthering his reputation just by talking about this? hmm..):

Game 1 vs. Western Michigan. Unnecessary interference by O'Byrne on Dwyer after a penalty was already going to be called on Pat Dwyer for holding the stick. Made things 4 x 4 instead of a Cornell PP. Later in the game, an even more unnecessary hooking call with less than 2 seconds to go in the 2nd period (down by 2 goals at that point).

Game 4 vs. Princeton: it was his penalty that gave Princeton a 5 x 3 for 1:33. Luckily, they didn't score. Might have been a completely different game (i.e. Vesce may only have gotten 5 or 6 points ). I also hate it when players take penalties when a shutout is at stake in the 3rd, which is what O'Byrne did. Remember Gleed's penalty at Lynah last year (that resulted in a goal by I forget whom) that made Lenny wait even longer to get that shutout record? Gleed never played another game after that!

I'm probably being too harsh on him....I'll just chalk it up to freshman mistakes for now I suppose. After all, he is big and aside from all the penalties he commits, he's an impressive defender for someone with so little experience. He'll still play every game, barring injury, and he can only get better.

[Q]vicb:
I'd be shocked if Vesce got 7 points against Clarkson[/Q]Heck, I was shocked when he got 7 against Princeton.

So, is anyone else on the eLF planning on making the North Country trip this weekend? Just curious to see who else will/might be there.

The best motel in the NC is the Smalling (there are two now; use Yahoo to figure out which one is closer to the rink), but they tend to book up weeks in advance for a hockey weekend.

The bell has character; it's annoying only in the way that we are. The train whistle is generic and annoying in the way that people yelling "YOU SUCK" during Gary Glitter are. Now, the silliest thing about Cheel is the clapping hands on the scoreboard. BRUIT!

I'll be on a plane from Minneapolis to New Orleans during the CU-CCT game.

John T. Whelan '91 wrote:

I'll be on a plane from Minneapolis to New Orleans during the CU-CCT game.

Could be worse. You could be going in the opposite direction.

I'll be there; staying in Ogdensberg. I might argue with John about the best motel. The Clarkson Inn is very nice and in beautiful downtown Potsdam. It's within walking distance of their rink (in fact is almost right next to the old Walker Rink), as well as close to decent places to eat for b'fast and dinner.

Alas, John is right; all the good, and bad, places fill up early, but Ogdensberg is not that far and the motel is nice there.

Jim Hyla '67 wrote:
I'll be there; staying in Ogdensberg. I might argue with John about the best motel. The Clarkson Inn is very nice and in beautiful downtown Potsdam. It's within walking distance of their rink (in fact is almost right next to the old Walker Rink), as well as close to decent places to eat for b'fast and dinner.

The Clarkson Inn isn't really a MOTEL, though. Pretty expensive, too, if I recall correctly.

JTW Wrote: Now, the silliest thing about Cheel is the clapping hands on the scoreboard. BRUIT!



No John, the silliest thing at Cheel is the new COWboni.

Is that the Cowboni from the "Got Milk" Lake Placid (Aubujon Hardware, whatever) ECACs? Personally, I thought that was pretty cool.

here is a picture

Actually, it's not quite that close, i.e., not next to the old Clarkson (Walker) Arena.

The Clarkson Inn is downtown just after you cross the bridge into the downtown area coming from the hill campus. Yep, it's pricey, could be anout $90 to $100. It's about a ten minute walk to the old arena and probably another 5 or ten to Cheel, depending on how fast you walk uphill.

The place that IS almost next door to the old rink is McNamara's...excellent for breakfast (I have eaten there several times) and from what I'm told, pretty good for other meals as well. This weekend you can p[robably run into Ernie Richmond, Clarkson '42 at breakfast, perhaps around 9 30? Long time fan, or as he told me this week..."only 63 years"...

Re: Smallings, there's only one left...the new one on the Potsdam-Canton Road, aka Rt 11. It's about a mile at most from Cheel. Sells out way in advance for hockey weekends and the nice thing is they don't raise their rates for hockey weekends like some other places do! Scott sold the older one last year which is on Rt. 56 I think, a few miles out of town. Now it's cold "something or other" family motel.

Anyone want my res. at Smallings for next weeks Clarkson-Slu game? I can't make it....GRRRR!!!