Men's Hockey moves from Bridgewater to Warrior Ice Arena

By Jess Brill

As the men’s hockey team looks forward to a new rink in the upcoming years, players are already on the move with a new place to practice.  

Men's Ice Hockey Coach David Berard and Stonehill Athletics negotiated this season to relocate the rink where games are held from Bridgewater Ice Arena in Bridgewater to the Warrior Ice Arena in Boston.  

Team members said the change is a bit inconvenient but not bad.  

“We will be taking a bus into the city so none of us get stuck in traffic or run into car issues, we all arrive together as a team,” JJ Grainda, a junior forward on the ice hockey team said.  

Since 1995, Stonehill men’s ice hockey practiced at Bridgewater Ice Arena, in Bridgewater. 

“The boards and ice were not suited to the type of program we are trying to build,” said Anthony Galante, junior forward on the Stonehill Men's Ice Hockey team.  

The Coach assembled the plan for the team to get to the Boston rink by bus, making the longer trip a bit easier for everyone.  

The new rink at Stonehill is part of the Tom and Kathleen Bogan Arena which will include a planned 120,000-square-foot facility that will feature separate basketball and ice hockey arenas, each seating about 2,500, along with premium hospitality areas. It will include academic support spaces, locker rooms, film rooms, and training facilities.  

The project won’t break ground until 2026 and is said to be finished by 2030. Estimated at $65 million, the project is funded through donor support and college investment.  

While current team members said they wont be around to play in the new complex, they are still looking forward to seeing it. 

“It would definitely be a yearly visit with the guys,” said Anthony Galante, junior forward on the men's ice hockey team.   

People said while some members weren't familiar with the entire plan for the complex, they know where the new rink and basketball court will be.  

“I think it’s worth seeing the program we worked hard for,” said Cole Melady, sophomore forward.   

Breaking ground for the new complex, expected to start in 2026, is billed as the “Shovel in the ground” - a hat tip to the college's shovel history and museum.