This is commentary with little to do with college hockey.
 
 
USA Hockey has done it again.
 
After briliantly bungling the Jr. National Tournament, USA
hockey brought an exhibition game of the World Cup of Hockey
to the Providence Civic Center.  Too bad no one knew about
it!
 
 
The USA played Slovakia in what was a really fun game (or at
least a really fun 1st two periods).  The USA won 9-2, but
it was 3-0 after one with Slovakia controlling the action and
Wisconsin alum Mike Richter (USA star o' the game) stood on
his head in keeping the USA in the game.  It was then in the
second, after Slovakia made it 3-1, that the USA exploded for
4 unanswered goals in about 2-3 minutes.
 
LSSU alum Doug Weight, BU alum Tony Amonte, BC alum Bill Guerin,
and Vermont alum John LeClair all stood out in my mind with
solid games, as did Hatcher and Modano (Jr.'s, not college).
 
 
Well, on to the soap-box.
 
I found out about this game on Friday evening because I happened
to hook NESN back up to watch the USA-Russia game on TV.
 
No regular TV (non-cable) had ANY adds about this.  I'm a major
hockey fan and I did not know about this.  Many other people
there just heard about it word-of-mouth.  Jaques Joubert, a
minor-league hockey player and BU alum just found out today
when a friend of his called him up and asked him if he was going.
 
 
Not only was there no advertising, but the arena was not ready for
the 6-8 thousand people who were there.  They were out of shirt
during the second period; they were running out of food during
the second intermission.  The understaffed consessions were
loudly complaining that they were not expecting all these people
to be there.
 
 
USA Hockey didn't advertise (except on NESN, a pay cable station),
and did not prepare for anyone to show.
 
 
The one thing that really p*sses me off about this though... is
that somewhere out west someone is sitting there saying, "geesh,
I thought New England was supposed to be a hockey region!"
 
With 7 Massachussetts-born players on the team (+ Brian Leetch,
born in Texas but played at B.C.) and 15 total former collegians
on the team (4 BU, 2 BC, 1 Vermont), serious advertising would
have packed the place.
 
 
We may complain about the NCAA being the NC$$, but at least the
the NCAA has some people who care about getting fan interest!!!
 
Advertise!  Get the word out!  LET PEOPLE KNOW!!!
 
Too many of my friends (fellow BU season ticket holders) wanted
to go when I told them, but it was just too short notice (1 day)
when I told them on Saturday.  NO ONE KNEW!!!
 
 
Why is USA Hockey still running things???
 
 
WHY???
 
 
O.K.
 
Off my soap-box now.
 
 
Tony
 
 
PS - I would not have gotten on this soapbox if we were jammed with
50+ messages like we will be in two months.
 
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