A friend of mine just sent me this today.  I believe this is unprecedented,
at least in  the east.  I cannot remember the same city hosting the
regionals two years in a row, maybe Providence in the early 90's?
 
>>From the Worcester Telegram
>
>
>The arena that played host to more NCAA Division 1 hockey tournament games
>than any other in the '90s is looking to defend that title into the new
>decade.
>The Worcester Centrum has been awarded the NCAA Division 1 East Regional for
>both 2002 and 2003. The arena will serve as host for next year's first- and
>second-round games, making it three East Regionals in a row.
>The Centrum and host institution Boston University submitted a bid for
>either the '02 or '03 regional and, to their surprise, got both.
>"It was very unexpected," said John Lahair, the Centrum's director of
>marketing. "We thought we would get one or the other, never both. To get
>both -- and thee in a row -- is unprecedented."
>The Centrum played host to the East Regionals in 1993, '95, '97 and '99.
>Three of the top five East Regional crowds of all time have been at the
>Centrum. A top crowd of 12,517 watched Maine play Clarkson and New Hampshire
>play Michigan.
>"The NCAA obviously likes what we've done in the past here," Lahair said.
>"They know the people in this area support hockey."
>The Centrum has made similar attempts to lure the NCAA men's basketball
>sub-regionals back to Worcester. The arena hosted the first and second
>rounds of the 1992 tourney. But since then, the NCAA has increased its
>minimum seating and other criteria. Attempts to attract the 1999, 2002 and
>2003 men's sub-regionals were unsuccessful.
>"We will keep bidding for hockey and basketball," Lahair said. "We've proven
>that we can fill seats. The basketball tournament is really out of our
>hands."
 
Greg Ambrose
GO UNH BLUE!!!
 
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