Hamel Recreation Center

Hamel Recreation Center
Former names	Snively Arena (1965-1995)
Location	5 Edgewood Rd.; Durham, New Hampshire 03824
Coordinates	43°8′26″N70°55′53″W / 43.14056°N 70.93139°W
Owner	University of New Hampshire
Operator	University of New Hampshire
Surface	multiple
Opened	1965; (58–59 years ago)
Tenants
	New Hampshire Wildcats ice hockey (1965-1995)

Last updated December 06, 2024

The Hamel Recreation Center (formerly the Snively Arena) is an indoor multipurpose facility located in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was the home of the New Hampshire varsity ice hockey team from 1965 to 1995. It is currently used by UNH as a recreation building for students and faculty and possesses basketball, squash and racquetball courts, a cycling studio, and a sauna, among several other facilities.^[1]

History

The Snively arena was completed in 1965 and dedicated in honor of A. Barr Snively, a long-time coach at Brown University, Williams College, and UNH who had died from a heart attack the year before.^[2] Initially the arena's main purpose was to house the men's ice hockey team, which had been using an outdoor artificial ice rink for the preceding ten years.^[3] The arena allowed UNH to rejoin ECAC Hockey, which it had been forced to leave in 1964, and return its program to the top echelon of college hockey.

The arena was the home of the ice hockey team for 30 years before being replaced by the Whittemore Center in 1995. After the hockey team moved out, the arena was renovated, expanded and renamed to become the Hamel Recreation Center, in honor of university benefactor Dana Hamel.^[4] The building was further expanded in 2016 to include an indoor pool.

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References

↑ "Hamel Recreation Center". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
↑ "A. Barr Snively, Former Williams Grid Coach, 65". North Adams Transcript. 1964-04-16.
↑ "Wildcat Hockey: Ice Hockey at the University of New Hampshire". New Hampshire Wildcats. October 2002. ISBN 9780738511023 . Retrieved 2017-06-06.
↑ "Athletic Facilities". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

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[1] "Hamel Recreation Center". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

[Adams-2] "A. Barr Snively, Former Williams Grid Coach, 65". North Adams Transcript. 1964-04-16.

[3] "Wildcat Hockey: Ice Hockey at the University of New Hampshire". New Hampshire Wildcats. October 2002. ISBN 9780738511023 . Retrieved 2017-06-06.

[4] "Athletic Facilities". University of New Hampshire. Retrieved May 7, 2019.

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v t e New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey
Formerly the New Hampshire Bulls
Playing venues	UNH Ice Rink (1926–1955) Harry C. Batchelder Rink (1955–1965) Snively Arena (1965–1995) Whittemore Center (1995–present)
Head coaches	Hank Swasey (1924–1925) Ernest Christensen (1925–1936, 1937–1938) Carl Lundholm (1936–1937) George Thurston (1938–1939) Anthony Dougal (1939–1943, 1946–1947) Joseph Petroski (1947–1951) Horace "Pepper" Martin (1951–1962) A. Barr Snively (1962–1964) Rube Bjorkman (1964–1968) Charlie Holt (1968–1986) Bob Kullen (1986–1987, 1988–1990) Dave O'Connor (1987–1988) Dick Umile (1990–2018) Michael Souza (2018–present)
Seasons	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 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	ECAC Hockey (1961–1964, 1966–1984) ECAC 2 (1964–1966) Hockey East (1984–present)
Rivalries	Dartmouth Maine
All-time leaders	Ralph Cox (243 Points) Ralph Cox (127 Goals) Kevin Regan (70 Wins)
Frozen Four appearances	1977 1979 1982 1998 1999 2002 2003
NCAA Tournament appearances	1977 1979 1982 1983 1992 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013
Conference Tournament titles	ECAC Hockey: 1979 Hockey East: 2002 2003
Hobey Baker winners	Jason Krog (1999)

v t e University of New Hampshire
Academics	Business and Economics Law Carsey School of Public Policy
Athletics	Men's basketball Women's basketball Football Men's ice hockey Women's ice hockey Men's soccer
Facilities	Hamel Recreation Center Jesse Hepler Lilac Arboretum InterOperability Laboratory Lundholm Gym Memorial Union Building New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts New Hampshire PBS Shoals Marine Laboratory University of New Hampshire at Manchester University of New Hampshire Observatory Thompson Hall Whittemore Center Wildcat Stadium
Programs	Green Launching Pad
Organizations	New Hampshire Outing Club Not Too Sharp University of New Hampshire Wildcat Marching Band
Media	The New Hampshire WUNH
Related	Bill Knight Trophy List of University of New Hampshire alumni "On to Victory" "UNH Alma Mater" University Press of New England Wildcat Sports Network

v t e Hockey East
Men	Boston College Eagles (Silvio O. Conte Forum) Boston University Terriers (Agganis Arena) Maine Black Bears (Harold Alfond Arena) Merrimack Warriors (J. Thom Lawler Rink) New Hampshire Wildcats (Whittemore Center Arena) Northeastern Huskies (Matthews Arena) Providence Friars (Schneider Arena) UConn Huskies (Toscano Family Ice Forum) UMass Minutemen (William D. Mullins Memorial Center) UMass Lowell River Hawks (Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell) Vermont Catamounts (Gutterson Fieldhouse)
Men's Seasons	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
Women	Boston College Eagles (Silvio O. Conte Forum) Boston University Terriers (Walter Brown Arena) Holy Cross Crusaders (Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex) Maine Black Bears (Harold Alfond Arena) Merrimack Warriors (J. Thom Lawler Rink) New Hampshire Wildcats (Whittemore Center) Northeastern Huskies (Matthews Arena) Providence Friars (Schneider Arena) UConn Huskies (Toscano Family Ice Forum) Vermont Catamounts (Gutterson Fieldhouse)
Related articles	Lamoriello Trophy List of champions: Men / Women Tournament sites: TD Garden