In a message dated 2/7/00 3:48:31 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
 
<< Originally I was thinking of on-campus sites of the 4 top seeds, but the
 prospect of getting to an out of the way location with few hotel rooms on
 short notice would seem to have more harm than good.
  >>
 
You don't mean like Potsdam or Canton, do you? :-)
 
I'd have to agree with Joe on this one.  Not all of the "host" schools have
arenas large enough to do a regional justice, and aren't in towns large
enough to house and feed all the visitors.
 
Personally, I would love to see a regional hosted in - of all places -
Syracuse, partly because it is close to home, but also because it would be a
tremendous shot in the arm for local hockey here.  Pretty much everyone on
the list is aware of what a joke the SIT is - modest fields, really bad
attendance, dowdy building.  Attendance is poor because of an almost total
lack of publicity, and the top teams stay away as a direct result (i.e. who
wants to play in an empty building?).  But the War Memorial actually did a
terrific job hosting the AHL All-Star Game a couple of years ago, and the
prospect of hosting a "national" event may be enough to spur some needed
updates. Maybe an event like this would show the SIT boys a thing or two, and
leave a truer lasting impression in Syracuse of just what college hockey is.
 
With so many D-I teams in the area (Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell, Saint
Lawrence, Niagara and Canisius all within a couple of hours) it is a fairly
central location for college hockey.  The arena seats about 6500, so it may
be a little on the smallish side.  Then again, the Worcester Centrum wasn't
exactly filled to the rafters last year either.  Maybe 6500 isn't such a bad
number after all.
 
And maybe - just maybe - the talk in this town might for once shift from NCAA
Squeakball.
 
Just my .02 for a Tuesday morning.
 
-Todd Nielson, Clarkson '86
Crease Monkey Hockey WWW Site
http://members.aol.com/todnielson/creasemonkey.html
 
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