This message is actually about the hypothesis to why attendance at Brown has
declined for the playoff games in the last two years. I lost the original
comments so I had to reply to this one: (sorry for the inconvenience)
 
   Two years ago, when attendance was around 2500, was a renaissance of sorts
for hockey at Brown. This was the first year when Brown became legit conten-
ders, and the senior class consisting of O'Brien, Hanley, Chauvette, et al.
really came into their prime. Going into the playoffs that year, Brown was
on some incredible streak, winning something like seven of their last eight,
with their only loss coming to Clarkson 5-4, a game in which they led 4-1.
So, excitement ran rampid across campus, as people knew that what they were
witnessing was a caliber hockey team that had not been seen in some time.
From what I remember, they were an exciting hockey team as well, very different
from the clutch and grab hockey that was seen this year (whether Brown was
the instigator or recipient of this type of hockey I still can't decide).
In other words, the hockey team was new thing in town, and thus people flocked
to go see them.
  This year seemed to be quite opposite, especially in terms of how Brown
played down the stretch. Whereas in 1993, Brown was on a tear, this year,
they sort of stumbled into the playoffs, only to redeem themselves with
the 8-2 victory over SLU. Enthusiasm and optimism was not as high going into
these playoffs as it was going into the 1993 playoffs, especially after the
10-2 nightmare against Clarkson. People were less willing to pay money to
go see a playoff series this year, because of the struggles that Brown had
endured in the home stretch. In other words, if you compare the way the two
teams played in the final month before the playoffs, I think you'll be able
to see why the crowds diminshed this year. It also doesn't help that Gaudet
has now instilled a mentality here that Brown should win, which is obviously
great, but with it comes less enthusiasm when the team surpasses "expert"
predictions as it had this year. Nevertheless, the Brown team should be
congratulated for a fine season. One bounce here or there, and many of us
would be trying to find rides to Lake Placid. Wait till next year. (A comment
not unfamiliar to me, for after all, I'm a Red Sox fan)
                                                   Sheel Saxena '96
 
 
success, as ironic as it may seem, was expected, no matter what the "experts"
say. In other words, the 1993 team was a pioneer of sorts, instilling a new
hockey tradition at Brown. What's normally expected is that the next teams
will  take that tradition to a new level, no matter what type of talent they
have (just look at how Duke was still predicted to be top 25, though their
talent had significantly diminshed).
for making winning seem expected at Meehan, but with that comes higher
expectations.