Great compilation Bill.

> I've been attending consecutive NCAA Final (Frozen) Fours since 1976
> (at Denver University Arena when Brown lost to Michigan Tech in double
> overtime and Minnesota (Herb Brooks) outflanked B. U. in the semis) with my
> first FF being at Meehan Auditorium in 1965 when Brown hosted and played in
> a field with Boston College, Michigan Tech & North Dakota.  Michigan Tech
> won the championship final, 8-2, against Boston College.

I certainly have to defer to you since you were there but I always thought
the 1976 NCAA was in St. Louis.  As I recall, wasn't the BU-Minnesota
semi-final marred by some altercation spurred on by the fact that Minnesota
was all US (actually all Minnesota) kids while BU was "tainted" by
Canadians?  I recall listening to the game on the radio and hearing a
description of a battle between Terry Meagher (in the penalty box) and the
Minnesota trainer (on the bench next to the penalty box).  Perhaps Sean
Pickett can enlighten me as to whether my memory has clouded with age.

>
> Here are some hits & misses in the 1976-2001 timeframe that may stir
> a few memories:
>
> Best arena for the FF:  Bradley Center, Milwaukee  (I haven't
> seen the Xcel Center yet)
>
> Worst Arena for the FF:  Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati

My pick for the worst venue has to be the Olympia in Detroit (1977 & 1979).
A rundown arena in an unbelievable seedy part of town (some would argue that
is the case with all of Detroit).  It wasn't so bad in '77 when the place
was filled with Wisconsin and Michigan partisans but my recollection of '79
was that attendance was sparse.

> Biggest Arena:  Joe Louis Arena, Detroit

As others have pointed out, the Fleet Center does not hold 20,000 or so for
hockey, it's more like 17,500 or so, while the Joe is pretty close to
20,000.  At least that's what attendance figures for Red Wing games show.

>
> Smallest Arena:  D. U. Arena  (originally set for McNicols Arena
> in downtown Denver but moved to D. U. Arena when disappointing ticket sales
> forced a shift in order to produce capacity attendance in a smaller
> building)
>
> Best host city/town:  Milwaukee, WI / Lake Placid, NY (tie)
> Runners Up:  Providence, RI; St. Paul, MN
> (As you can see, I prefer walkable cities/towns for FF sites)
>
> Worst host city/town:  Detroit  (although I got to know the
> Renaissance Center REALLY well on 3 occasions - 1985, 1987 & 1990 )

Have to concur with you on Milwaukee and the Bradley Center.  A fan friendly
town, great eating and (especially) drinking establishments and they did it
right when they built the  Bradley Center.  I'd go back there every year if
we could.  Likewise about Lake Placid.  Unfortunately, because of attendance
considerations, the FF will never be their again.  We also stayed at the
Renaissance Center, in 1979.  I always remember the late Joe Concannon's
(Boston Globe) line about the place - "a monument to 20th century opulence
and inefficiency."

> Best FF Weather:  Anaheim, CA (1999)

Actually, the best weather (or at least the most surprising) was in St.
Paul, 1994.  On Saturday the temperature was in the 70's and I had to go out
and by a pair of shorts before I went for a run.  It did rain in Anaheim
prior to the final.  I remember the locals moaning and groaning about it
never rains that time of year in southern California (good title for a song
I think).
>
> Worst FF Weather:  Milwaukee, WI (1993)

We made the mistake of trying to fly into Milwaukee the day of the
semi-finals.  We had to change planes in Cleveland to boot.  When we landed
there, we had to re-route our plans since all connecting flights to the
upper midwest had been cancelled due to snow.  We finally got a flight to
Chicago, were in holding pattern over O'Hare for 45 minutes, landed, lost my
luggage, rented a car and drove 1 1/2 hours to Milwaukee.  We missed the
first period and a half of the Maine-Michigan game.
>
> Most Balanced FF Field:  Rensselaer, Minnesota-Duluth,
> Providence & Boston College at Joe Louis Arena, Detroit (1985).  Two
> three-overtime semis and a 2-1 championship final with Rensselaer emerging
> as national champion.
>
> Least Balanced FF Field:  North Dakota, Northeastern, Wisconsin
> & New Hampshire at Providence Civic Center (1982).  6-2 and 5-0 semis and a
> 5-2 championship final with North Dakota gliding thru as national champion.
> Runner up: Wisconsin, Northern Michigan, Minnesota & Michigan
> Tech at Duluth Arena (1981).  5-1 and 7-2 semis and a 6-3 championship final
> with Wisconsin sailing thru as national champion.
>
> Best Semifinal Game:  Maine vs. Michigan (1995) at Providence
> Civic Center.  Maine wins 4-3 in 3rd overtime.
> Runners-up:  Colorado College vs. Vermont (1996) Riverfront
> Coliseum (Cincinnati).  Colorado College wins 4-3 in 2nd overtime; and
> Providence College vs. Boston College (1985) at Joe Louis Arena (Detroit).
> Providence College wins 4-3 in 3rd overtime.
>
> Worst Semifinal Game:  Lake Superior State vs. Boston
> University (1993) at Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI.  LSSU wins 6-1.
>
> Personal Best/Worst Semifinal Game:  Brown vs. Michigan Tech
> (1976) at D. U. Arena.  Michigan Tech wins 7-6 in 2nd overtime.
> Upside: Brown goes on to beat B. U. in the conso, 8-7.
>
> Best Championship Game:  Harvard vs. Minnesota (1989) at St.
> Paul Civic Center.  Harvard wins 4-3 in overtime.
> Runners-up: Northern Michigan vs. Boston University (1991) at
> St. Paul Civic Center.  Northern Michigan wins 8-7 in 3rd overtime; and
> Bowling Green vs. Minnesota-Duluth (1984) at the Olympic Arena (Lake
> Placid).  BGSU wins 5-4 in 4th overtime.
>
> Worst Championship Game:  Lake Superior State vs. Boston
> University (1994) at St. Paul Civic Center.  LSSU wins 9-1.

Can't argue with any of your picks, even with your omission of the Maine-UNH
final in '99.  I'd prefer to leave that one out as well.  Like UNH assistant
Brian McCloskey, I've never watched the tape and probably never will.

Greg Ambrose
GO UNH BLUE!!!