The Stuart Rink was a temporary, outdoor ice rink that was built upon the parade ground on the campus of the United States Military Academy in West Point,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The rink served as the home for the Army ice hockey program for 15 years and was replaced by a permanent structure, the

Smith Rink The Smith Rink was an outdoor ice rink on the campus of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. The rink served as the home for the Army ice hockey program for 55 years and was the last outdoor venue used for Division I hocke ...

History

Army began playing ice hockey in

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and initially used the

Lusk Reservoir Lusk Reservoir is located next to Michie Stadium at the United States Military Academy at West Point. It is open for fishing in the Spring and early Fall, and usually freezes over during the winter months. The volume of the reservoir is required ...

as their home venue. As the sport became more popular at West Point, the student body began to campaign for a greater investment in the program. Chief among the team's needs was stable and consistent ice. In 1914, the athletic department decided to allow a temporary rink to be constructed on the parade ground, behind the gymnasium. The rink was named in honor of Colonel Stuart, the man responsible for devising the scheme of using compacted ice as a bank and progressively filling up the resulting basin with water so the ice surface could be made. While the purpose-built rink did help the team, it was still subject to local weather conditions. Still learning how to maintain the rink, Army was forced back onto the reservoir after a warm spell in January of 1916. After that small regression, Army rebuilt their rink the following year and was able to use it thereafter. In 1919, cold weather came late in the year and Lusk used instead while in 1928 the temperatures remained too warm for a full-sized rink to be made and the facility at Bear Mountain was used instead. In most seasons, warm air, sunshine and rain forced Army to cancel a few games but the team did receive better ice than that had on Lusk. In 1930, after Army posted its first winning season in 9 years, The Academy decided that the program deserved to have a permanent home and began construction of the

which was completed before the start of the following season.

References

{{Army Black Knights men's ice hockey navbox Defunct college ice hockey venues in the United States Defunct sports venues in New York (state) United States Military Academy Buildings and structures in New York (state) 1915 establishments in New York (state) 1930 disestablishments in New York (state) Sports venues completed in 1915 Sports venues demolished in 1930 Demolished sports venues in the United States