How Bruins Feel About Playing In College Arena Vs. Coyotes

It will not be the usual setting for an NHL game Friday night when the Boston Bruins take on the Arizona Coyotes.

The Coyotes are playing in a temporary home for the next three years at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena, a 5,000-seat bandbox that lacks the stature of NHL arenas — TD Garden has a capacity of 17,850 for Bruins home games in comparison.

Playing in the much smaller venue will bring the players back to the days before they made the leap to the NHL, though, and that’s something Bruins first-year coach Jim Montgomery is trying to tap into with Boston looking to improve its record to 22-3-1.

“It’s exciting,” Montgomery told reporters, as transcribed by Bruins.com’s Eric Russo. “I told a lot of guys, think about your rival in junior hockey, college hockey, or whatever European league you played in. This is what you’re walking into tonight so relish the moment. I think if you take yourself back to your younger days, it gives you a little spark and energy to be excited.”

Bruins forward Trent Frederic thinks being back playing in a college arena will remind him of what it was like when he played at the University of Wisconsin.

“I think it’s gonna be pretty cool,” Frederic said, per Russo. “It kind of reminds me of Penn State when I played in the Big 10, kind of like Yost Arena in Michigan. I liked those two rinks. I thought we always played well there, so hopefully it’s similar.

“When you’re playing, you only see the first 10 rows and up, so it works out fine. I think it will be pretty much the same.”

Like Frederic, Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton expects to experience some nostalgia back to his college days when he steps onto the ice. But Clifton knows he can’t think of that too long with the Coyotes hungry to perform well in front of their home fans for their first game back since losing their last six contests on a 14-game road trip.

“I think it will be a lot of fun,” Clifton said, per Russo. “It’s a smaller building but I betcha it’s gonna sell out and get loud in there. I know those guys are coming off a long trip so they’re gonna be excited to play tonight. A little bigger than Quinnipiac but not too much. It will be pretty similar.”

The Bruins and Coyotes drop the puck from Mullett Arena at 9:30 p.m. ET. You can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.