On Thu, 22 Jan 1998, Anthony Frolik wrote:
 
> As far as this is bad for the league, why?  It's not hurting ticket sales
> in Minneapolis, probably not on the road either, since everyone wants to
> see the Gophers get beat.  Why is it bad for the league to have Minnesota
> on the bottom rather than UAA, NMU, or CC (some recent last place teams)?
> I think it's probably better for the league to have new teams at the top
> every once in a while.
 
In a general sense, you're right. The WCHA would be a crashing bore if
Minnesota (or any team) won it every year.
 
Where Minnesota's decline hurts the league is financially, I think. IIRC,
the WCHA gets part (if not all) of the receipts from playoff games. Not
having a playoff series in Minnesota will mean that the revenue from the
first round series is likely to go down. (It has to, given that Minnesota
normally sells out at the most outrageous prices in College Hockey.)
 
Not having Minnesota in the Final Five (which is also likely), could
potentially hurt ticket sales there, as well. This effect may not be as
great if tickets for that tend be bought in advance of the regular season
starting.
 
That said, I think talk of recruiting non-Minnesotans, or firing Doug
Woog is a little premature. In a situation like this, where the Gophers
have been on top for so long, one has run on the theory that one iss an
aberration, and two is a trend. If it becomes clear over the next year or
so that Minnesota's downfall is systemic, then perhaps a change might be
in order. The key thing to look at, in my mind, is whether Minnesota
retains its ability to pick and choose from the cream of the State of
Minnesota's recruits. If Mr. Hockey goes to Mankato (for example), that
might set off alarm bells in Minneapolis.
 
See you later,
John
 
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