Kathee Natole has witnessed many milestones during her nearly four decade career working at Messa Rink at Achilles Center on the campus of Union College in Schenectady.

“I came in the door at Union just as Ned Harkness was leaving, and Charlie [Morrison] was new coach,” said Natole, whose jobs included ticket manager and rink director. “I must have liked it because I was still here all the way up until 2016.”

From the rebirth of the Union men’s hockey program in 1975 to its national championship season in 2014, the Garnet Chargers have delivered numerous unforgettable memories inside their barn over the last five decades.

“I think that was the brightest moment of my whole time being here at Union,” said Natole, on Union winning the national championship.

“You could tell it was something special that year,” said Michael Caruso, who works on the broadcast production team for the Garnet Chargers.

Caruso also helped installed the original boards and benches inside Messa during its construction. Some of college hockey’s longest games happened here, including the March 2010 ECAC quarterfinal matchup against Quinnipiac — a five-overtime thriller which Union lost 3-2.

“My wife and I had our favorite sitter at home with our newborn,” said Timothy Meigher, a season ticket holder. “And we kept calling saying, ‘we're gonna be a little late. We're going to be a little later. We're going to be a little late.’  And the game went to 1:20 in the morning.”

But after 50 years, fans are saying goodbye to this old-school, fans-on-top-of-you, wooden-bleachers hockey rink. The Union men’s hockey team will play its final games here in the ECAC quarterfinal round before moving to the newly-built Mohawk Harbor Event Center next season.

“I think that's the great thing about this is it hasn't changed,” Meigher said. “This building has not changed. It's the same feeling walking in here now as it was 50 years ago.”

“I think if we bring some of the memories from here to the new facility, that'll help kind of do the transition a lot,” Caruso said.

It’s certainly bittersweet for many fans like Natole, whose family did just about every job here at Messa.

“I had sisters and brother-in-laws, nieces and nephews working as ushers, the student tour, ticket takers, raffle ticket sellers,” she said. “This whole rink is like my second home, and it's like saying goodbye to it.”

It’s a tough but needed change. While the venue will be different next year, it's expected the love and passion for Union hockey will carry over.

“Yes, I'm happy that the boys are moving on into a new building,” Natole said. “It's needed. This rink is old. But it's like saying goodbye to a parent or sibling, and it's just like, I know it's still going to be here, but it's not here for us.”