By Andrew McCarthy/DFP Columnist

What I remember most vividly is the noise.

Walter Brown seated less than 4,000 people, but on some nights, it seemed to be the loudest venue in Boston. The chatter of the consistently sold out crowds would ricochet off the hospital-white cement walls and red iron support beams, smothering everyone inside.

Its underground acoustics and cramped bleacher-style seats allowed for an intimate setting right in line with the original Garden. It was run-down, decrepit and behind-the- times, but it also perfectly embodied the Boston University hockey program that I had grown up with. On a larger scale, it was Boston hockey personified.

Growing up in New England, learning to skate is a rite of passage. Texas has football, Indiana has basketball and Massachusetts has hockey — this is the reality that is ingrained in us from a young age.

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