Future Post Season Tourney's B10/NCHC

[archerystud]

I'm sure things are preliminary but SCSU Coach Motzko mentioned a scenario where the B10 and NCHC would maybe alternate at the X every other year.

I will admit to being a college hockey addict and have been going to the Final Five for many years now. The group I'm with has actually been going longer. Obviously we get our same tickets every year.

So IF the tourney's do alternate do you think it will help or hinder the future attendances? Basically are there a lot of rubes out there like me who buy the tickets every year or do you think most just buy them one year at a time?

Not sure if I will re-up every year depending on how far I have to travel??

[cbrooks]

I hope the NCHC tourament will be held at St paul. Thought I herd they were thinking of having Denver have it one year then maybe Omaha. Denver would be a cool trip. About 16 bhour drive from GF I think. St Paul is about 5 hours.

I hope they never have the tourament in the smaller towns including GF. I like the bigger city for that kind of tourney. To answer your question I would go to St Paul every other year if thats the case.

[archerystud]

cbrooks,

So would you buy tickets every year?

I guess part of the thing in the current scenario is that we get our same seats every. Which we kind of like.

[cbrooks]

Honestly ArcheryStud I try to go every year but I don't always make it. think I'm gonna make a point of going every year depending on the city but if it is in St P every other year...I would say yes. I hate the fact that the WCHA as we know it will be done after next year. FF was a special tourament for all the college hockey nuts.

Just curious. Are you thinking that the FF will lose its appeal with the every other year scenio? With the Sioux fans I don't think it will given all the alum down in the cities. I also get a feeling that some of the other school fanbase is getting bigger like UMD.

This is a off topic but UND been trying to get Dave St Peter (Twins president and UND alum) to have a hockey game at Target feild against the Gophers. Thought I read somewhere that UND has 12000 donating alumi in the twin city area. UNd will always fill arena's in the St Paul.

[scsavre]

Brooks, you guys didnt even fill it this year. Attendance was 2000 shy of full. I honestly couldnt give my tickets away saturday

Going forward i would go the Big 10 tourny at the X. I will not attend the NCHC tourny. I would think it is obvious that the attendance will go down significantly. A 12,000 seat arena would be perfect for the NCHC.

Honestly after this year, I dont know if the Big 10 could sell out the X, ive heard Mich travels well. so maybe.

[yakfisher]

2000 shy and iit was about the same attendance as the last two years. Choker fans didn't make much of an attendance difference this year. According to folks in the ticket office at the X, the Big Ten dance is likely going to be in Chicago and the wcha and the NCHC both vying for the X.

[Bear55]

BT conference tourney likely to rotate between St Paul and Detroit, maybe another city thrown in every now and then but those two will probably carry the load.

[Bear55]

Choker fans didn't make much of an attendance difference this year.

Why don't we addres these choker references and just get this out of the way now. I can't help but agree that the Holy Cross loss is one of the biggest NCAA choke jobs, however the Sioux have had their fare share in recent years.

Anyone remember that first round exit to YALE a couple years back. Now Yale probably isn't as bad as Holy Cross but it still Yale from the ECAC of all places.

The year before Yale you gave up a goal with 1 second left in the game and then lost in overtime. Not terrible but still a minor choke job.

2008 you guys must have sent your B team to the Frozen Four, 6-1 emberrassment at the hands of BC.

2007 BC again, tie game 3-3 with 5 minutes left and the Sioux manage to lose 6-4. Yep that is clutch play.

I will combine 2011 and 2004, both years the Sioux clearly have the best team in the tourney and manage to get shut out with everything on the line.

2003 Ferris State ended your season, enough said

And one of my favorites 2002, Gophs sweep you out of the WCHA playoff and out of the NCAA when Keith Ballard pulls the jersey over the head of a Sioux player in the gophers zone (clearly a penalty but the refs missed it) and then goes down to score the OT winner. Now that probably wasn't a choke job because the Sioux sucked that year but I just had to throw it in.

[Shorelunch]

]Brooks, you guys didnt even fill it this year. Attendance was 2000 shy of full. I honestly couldnt give my tickets away saturday

Going forward i would go the Big 10 tourny at the X. I will not attend the NCHC tourny. I would think it is obvious that the attendance will go down significantly. A 12,000 seat arena would be perfect for the NCHC.

Honestly after this year, I dont know if the Big 10 could sell out the X, ive heard Mich travels well. so maybe.

I watched some of the Michigan/Western MI CCHA championship game held at Joe Louis. If Michigan "travels well," I'd hate to see what Ohio St and MI State bring to the table. Or, there must have been lots of MI fans disguised as empty seats. Neither the NCHC and Big Ten will ever rival the Final Five.

[Bear55]

Neither the NCHC and Big Ten will ever rival the Final Five.

This I very much agree with, its going to suck. Both the BT and NCHC will have plenty of good tournaments but it just won't be the same.

[yakfisher]

Loved the 3 peat t-shirts at the FF in '04. How'd that work out by the way?

I've called them the Golden Chokers for years and will continue to do so until there are no longer sports in college. And how have the Chokers tourneys worked out for them since '03? In a one game tourney the best team doesn't always win. Just look at the '97 champion. We're they the best? Not a chance but they do remind me of the team we have on the ice this year.

As for the chokers once again down the stretch they have not been able to hold it together. They shoulda been the #1 seed in the west and possible overall and now they have a real fight on their hands. They lack character handling adversity. Instead of battling back they get chippy and mouthy. When it comes time to back it up they turtle up.

I will say this, the Chokers pulled of an amazing feat winning back to back championships, who knows if that will ever happen again for anyone. Thank god we have a tourney though, we could do it like football and have the top two vote getters play a game to decide who was the best. This way we get to argue for weeks, even though the odds are against us all.

[yakfisher]

]Neither the NCHC and Big Ten will ever rival the Final Five.

This I very much agree with, its going to suck. Both the BT and NCHC will have plenty of good tournaments but it just won't be the same.

+2

[Bear55]

Loved the 3 peat t-shirts at the FF in '04. How'd that work out by the way?

[yakfisher]

Yep.

[PierBridge]

Actually holy Cross was a much better team then Yale.

Not to burst anybody's bubble but the NCHC will be lucky to have one tourney at the X. The attandance expectancies and revenue make the X unafordable for the NCHC. Ridder may be a better option.

I think they will eventually go old school and have there playoffs played in a home or home and away series.

Hope I'm wrong but it is what it is I'm afraid.

[scsavre]

The sioux have clearly choked more. Hands down.

The tournys won't compare to what we have. Mich and wmich drew 10.4 to the hood. I think a tourny at the x would be a sellout for big 10. I don't think the goph fans would travel to detroit to sell that out tho.

As far as nchc und and denver have had under 17k 2 years in a row. North d cc brought in 15k last year. und and cloud brought in 15k this year.

I was at all those games because I buy tickets way ahead of time every year. There are a lot of people like me who will stop buying these tickets.

Stupid big 10 and nchc. I guess we will see if the new all mn tourny will bring in fans

[archerystud]

Yeah it is going to suck once the F5 is gone that's for sure. My group has been going for many years and I would say for the last 7-8 years we've had the same people around us which has been fun. Even if our group goes every year I highly doubt we will have the same people around us.

It was also worthwhile to get our great seats every year. Maybe the wife and I will go to the tourney every year after the kid is out of high school.....who knows??