Huskies bid farewell to Northeastern’s historic Matthews Arena

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Huskies bid farewell to Northeastern’s historic Matthews Arena

Hundreds of former Northeastern University players looked on as Husky hockey legend David Poile dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff in the last men’s hockey game — and the final event ever — in the 115-year-old Matthews Arena, before a sold-out crowd Saturday night.

Poile, who tallied a whopping 82 goals — among them a record 11 hat tricks — was thinking about his freshman year as he held the puck on the red carpet that was rolled out to center ice for the momentous occasion.

“I must say, I had goosebumps. I had flashbacks to that first practice,” Poile told Northeastern Global News.

Northeastern will “surgically” deconstruct Matthews Arena and build a 310,000-square-foot multi-purpose athletics and recreation complex that is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2028. The complex will span the entire two acres of the footprint of the old arena and will house 4,050 fans for hockey and 5,300 for basketball. It will include an additional 54,000 square feet for recreational use, including for ceremonies, concerts and other events. The venue will be able to accommodate an array of activities simultaneously.

In the arena’s last game, the Huskies took a 3-2 lead late into the third period before falling 4-3 to the Terriers. Northeastern goals were scored by Joe Connor, Jacob Mathieu and Tyler Fukakusa.

After the game, a 30-minute on-ice ceremony celebrated more than a century of Northeastern men’s hockey with videos, speakers and representatives from across the program’s history.

Jim Madigan, Northeastern’s athletic director, said that Northeastern has been “unbelievably lucky” to have had this building.

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
“I must say, I had goosebumps. I had flashbacks to that first practice,” David Poile, a Northeastern Hall of Famer, told Northeastern Global News.
Photos by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

“It’s where we meet and greet family and friends, where we gather for academic and athletic celebrations, and where we come together as one community,” Madigan said. “It’s where everyone knows your name — it was ‘Cheers’ before Cheers was Cheers,” he said referring to the popular Boston-based TV sitcom.

A teary-eyed Madigan noted that many of the fans gathered here today have celebrated “convocations and academic milestones, cheered at student concerts, boxing matches, skating events and countless varsity athletic contests” under the roof of Matthews Arena.

“Buildings may define a campus, but it is the community within them that defines the experience,” he said.

Many former Northeastern stars stepped on the ice one last time along with Poile, including Jay Bell, Art Chisholm, Wayne Turner, Jeff Hiltz, David O’Brien, Dan McGillis, Jim Fahey, Mike McLaughlin and Jordan Harris.

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
In the arena’s last game, the Huskies took a 3-2 lead late into the third period before falling 4-3 to the Terriers. Photos by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Boston Bruins legend Johnny Bucyk also attended the event to represent the Bruins, an NHL team that played at the building decades ago when it was called Boston Arena.

Harris, who played four years at Northeastern before joining the Boston Bruins as a defenseman over the summer, said one of his earliest memories of Matthews came during his freshman year in 2018, when Northeastern hosted St. Cloud State, one of the country’s top hockey teams at the time, in their home opener.

“Our captain, Eric Williams, scored in overtime, and the place was just rocking,” Harris said. “That was my introduction to Matthews and real college hockey. That’ll stick with me forever.”

For Wayne “Beanpot” Turner, who scored the winning goal to give Northeastern its first-ever Beanpot title in 1980, memories of triumph on the ice have matured into an appreciation of family.

When asked which moments at Matthews stand out most, he said, “Honestly, it’s really being able to bring my daughters into the fold.”

Indeed, Turner, a Northeastern Hall of Famer, brought his whole family for the game Saturday night.

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
After the game, a 30-minute on-ice ceremony showcased more than a century of Northeastern men’s hockey with videos, speakers and representatives from across the program’s history. Photos by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Poile, who described his younger self as a “nervous kid, probably with not a lot of confidence,” landed a spot on Northeastern’s freshman hockey team as a walk-on.

His first memory of the arena is trying out for the men’s freshman team alongside about 150 others. He said the tryouts were asked to skate two laps around the then egg-shaped rink that was then called Boston Arena.

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Originally built in 1910 as the Boston Arena, the venue hosted everything from skating shows to horse exhibitions. After a 1918 fire, it became a hub for ice hockey. Photos by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Looking back, it was an unusual experience, Poile said, since modern hockey rinks are configured into more of an oval, with corners that make the puck bounce predictably off the boards.

“I remember when you’d shoot the puck, it wouldn’t go into the corner — it just kept going around,” said Poile, who is a Northeastern Hall of Famer, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame IN 2024, in the “Builders” category, which recognizes those who have helped build and promote the game, such as coaches, general managers and commentators. Poile played three varsity seasons.

Asked about the new multipurpose facility, Poile said it will serve the needs of the Northeastern community and elevate its athletics programming to greater heights.

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Asked about the new multipurpose facility, Poile said it will serve the needs of the Northeastern community and elevate its athletics programming to greater heights. Photos by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

“We’re going to have to say our goodbyes to Matthews Arena,” he said. “For everyone who attended games or played there, we’ll have those great memories forever. But time moves on to something bigger and better, and that’s where Northeastern and their athletic programs, specifically hockey, are heading.”

Harris, whose family also attended Saturday night’s sendoff, echoed those comments.

“It’s really exciting for the new arena,” he said. “This is a huge step for the university, and I think it’ll be great from a recruiting standpoint, from a student-athlete standpoint.”

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Tanner Stening is an assistant news editor at Northeastern Global News. Email him at t.stening@northeastern.edu. Follow him on X/Twitter @tstening90.

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