Hockey News

Among other series and posts that will appear on the Ice Chips blog this season will be a social media driven set of posts that will provide a look inside organizations across the nation. The first run through will offer a glimpse at some of the coolest locker room facilities in the country.

While this is a contest of sorts, the only prize will be bragging rights for the teams who are named amongst the most impressive in the nation. Submissions we accepted via Twitter and the primary ACHA account (@achahockey) retweeted any and all pictures and videos we received from teams. Of all the pictures that were sent in to us, these were determined to be the most impressive.

University of Oklahoma

An expansive room with a very professional look, Oklahoma takes the cake in my book for the best room in the nation. The logos in the center of the room aren’t overpowering and the additional logos and names on the walls look great. It definitely has that “collegiate” feel while also sharing many traits with professional locker rooms in many NHL facilities.

Arizona State University

The craftsmanship on the unique ASU doors on the top of each player’s stall in the sun Devils’ locker room set this apart from any other team in the nation. In fact, on a player locker basis, ASU tops any of the other submissions. Although there wasn’t a specific scoring system used to rank each team, ASU would have been just a point or two away from the first spot claimed by Oklahoma. They also have a very cool restricted access sign for the door.

Davenport University

Davenport’s room makes more of a statement than Oklahoma in the sense that their bold colors blend well and stand out upon a first impression. I love the circular logo in the middle of the room and the logo wordmark above the stalls looks good. While Oklahoma’s is the cream of the crop, this isn’t far behind.

US Naval Academy

The boys in Annapolis slot in the top five for our rankings as the service academy doesn’t skimp on the Navy-related décor. In addition to the beautiful crest on the floor, the team and POW-MIA flags above the lockers are a nice touch. It appears that every player has an individual stall and the space available appears to be more than enough for the Midshipmen.

Northern Illinois University

NIU slots in the top five in my book for their communal team room. While having an individual stall cannot be beat – especially for hiding tape from sticky fingered teammates – having everyone sitting on the same bench is a nice team-first way of thinking. While NIU is short on décor, the logo on the floor and strips above the benches are a nice touch. They earn a top-five spot for me, just barely.

Honorable Mention
Here's a real nice panoramic shot of Calvin's new locker room's player stalls. Missing from that shot is the rest of the space including laundry facilities, coaches offices and more. John Carroll’s room fits in perfectly at Gilmour Academy and looks awesome. A very professional look and feel for the Blue Streaks.  PSU-Berks also has a cool team-first room. While the size doesn’t appear to be ideal, it’s still a great looking space. This shot of the Rowan locker room is a bit limited, but the jerseys look cool set against the team logo. Here’s a panorama of the Michigan-Dearborn room prior to getting filled with gear. It’s hard to make out smaller details but it gets the job done. I love the blue and maize color scheme for everything. Both Missouri State and EIU went the video route to show off their digs. While it was technically against the rules, they certainly deserve an honorable mention nod for sharing their space. Another panorama, this time from Liberty.  Last but not least is Oakland. This panorama shows their cool team-decorated room. They have additional shots on their team Twitter account.