If you’ve never been to a Big Red hockey game at Cornell’s James Lynah Rink, there are quite a few things you’ve never experienced. You’ve never camped out in line just to get season tickets and ensure your spot as one of the raucous and devoted "Lynah Faithful." But most importantly, if you’ve never been to Lynah, you’ve never really experienced all the best that college hockey has to offer.
Lynah Rink, which turned 50 years old in 2007, is the home of Big Red hockey. The rink, which was dedicated April 6, 1957, was named in honor of the late James Lynah (class of 1905), director of athletics at Cornell from 1935-43.
Cornell began sponsoring a hockey team in 1900-01. All the Big Red’s home games were played on the university’s outdoor rink at Beebe Lake until the 1947-48 season when a series of abnormally mild winters left the team on "thin ice" at Beebe, causing Cornell to drop its hockey program entirely. Fortunately, the construction of Lynah Rink gave the team a new home, enabling Cornell to resume ice hockey as a varsity sport for the 1957-58 season.
Lynah has received a facelift or two since its inaugural game on March 21, 1957, between the N.Y. Rangers of the NHL and the Rochester Americans of the AHL. During the summer of 2006, the rink underwent a 16,700 square foot expansion that added new locker rooms, coaches offices, study lounges, new athletic training space and the addition of approximately 450 new seats. Prior to the expansion of the support space, the university spent nearly $1 million in renovations to Lynah in the summer of 2000, replacing the rink floor, drainage system, frost protection and refrigeration piping, as well as adding new boards and seamless glass.
Though many physical aspects of Lynah Rink have changed over the years, one thing remains constant: the crowd. Lynah is capable of holding 4,267 boisterous Cornell hockey fans who provide unwavering support for the Big Red and create an atmosphere that is unparalleled in the sport of college hockey. Although many rinks in the nation are larger in seating capacity, few are known to be louder. The Cornell fans, aptly named the "Lynah Faithful," stream into every home contest and make themselves as much a part of the game as the players do. Whether they’re cheering for the Big Red or joining the pep band in their rendition of "Give My Regards to Davy," the Lynah Faithful reaffirm the old saying, "there’s no place like home."
Both the men's and women's ice hockey teams always play in front of crowds that rank among the NCAA's largest - and certainly rank as the best.
Since Lynah Rink opened, Cornell has won two NCAA men’s hockey championships (1967 and 1970), an ECAC Hockey record 12 tournament championships (1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2010) and 15 outright Ivy League titles; the Big Red tied for the crown four times. The women advanced to the NCAA title game in 2010 and have won ECAC regular season title in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019 and 2020, with tournament titles in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. It has claimed 15 Ivy League titles, including 13 outright, and have qualified for the NCAA Tournament eight times with Frozen Four appearances in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2019.
