Richard Hungerford writes:
 
>According to USCHO, the Hockey East-ECAC doubleheader in New York City on
>22 Dec 1998 has been moved to the Hartford Civic Center.
>
>Lack of ticket sales was the reason given.  The games will be Colgate vs
>Maine at 5 pm and UNH - Rensselaer at 8 pm.
 
From what I was able to find out at the UNH Hockey "Face-off Feed" last
Saturday, the reason for the switch wasn't only the lack of ticket sales
but the lack of interest in marketing possibilities by businesses in NYC.
Since Madison Square Garden Corp. also owns the Hartford Civic Center, I
guess they decided to cut their losses and switch the doubleheader to
Connecticut.
 
What this really shows is the lack of foresight by the powers that be, most
notably HE Commish Joe Bertagna.  Without a doubt it was he more than
anyone who pushed this idea on the schools.  You know, "back to the Big
Apple", "spend the holiday week in New York", etc.  Lost in all this
pie-in-the-sky dreamworld stuff is the fact that no one in NYC gives a damn
about college hockey.  If the sport couldn't make any impression 25 years
ago, what made people think that it would now when the NYC metro area is
consumed totally with pro sports.  College football can't make it there . .
. and college hockey can?
 
I can tell you that interest among UNH fans in this one day trip was luke
warm at best.  Did HE/ECAC really think that fans would trek down to NYC
the Tuesday before Christmas, that is, two nights before Christmas Eve, pay
some exorbitant hotel rate (assuming that they could get a room) to watch a
non-league game?  Personally I missed only 3 UNH games last year and there
was no way I was going to this one.  Hartford, maybe, NYC on Dec. 22nd, no
way.
 
It's time for Joe Bertagna to get real, concentrate on getting that 10th
team for Hockey East, marketing the league that pays his salary and forget
about these Alice-In-Wonderland, off the wall proposals!
 
Greg Ambrose
UNH '72
 
Q.  Jason Krog, how will UNH finish this year in HE
A.  #1, Definitely!
Conclusion:  I like this man's confidence.  GO BLUE!!
 
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