In response to the demand from some East Regional proponents who want
the west to find an ideal set of West Regional Tournament sites I have
spent the time I would have spent getting ready to go to Boston (I went
to Fairbanks at the expense of enough domestic tranquility that Boston
was out of the question well before the regular season ended) by doing
the spade work to come up with the Ideal West Regional Venues.
  With apologies in advance to both Alaska schools (and with further
apologies to Jeff Partnow for even considering 'that other' whateveritis)
the ideal location is Auburn Iowa ("if you build it they will come").
Sorry Ben, Omaha is too far west, a bit too far south, and above all
NOT a neutral site.  The closest next larger town is Carroll ("if YOU
build it first they will come").  An alternative site is Fort Dodge.
But taking off fro this, there are two realistic alternatives - both
neutral sites (one will remain so unless Drake University emerges with
a hockey team).  One is Ames on the Iowa State University campus -
viable until the club team graduates to Div I, the other is Des
Moines (does Drake still play football?).  The tournament could
alternate between these two sites with every 6th one being held in
Fairbanks to compensate for their travel distance.  [If you haven't
been in Fairbanks, you haven't lived yet and you owe it to yourself
to get there - I don't know enough about Anchorage (sorry Jeff, there's
that word) but they could alternate depending on who won the most
games in the intervening 5 years.
  Now there are two other possible sites, Waterloo and Cedar Rapids if
the East proponents of West sites want more than two to choose from.
 
  These selections are near the centroid of the CCHA/WCHA territory
(sorry Alaskans, but we have built in a compensation  - it is too bad
that the regionals come so late in the spring - Fairbanks best is
at New Years time - they are raising petunias by March).
 
  BTW, Albany would be OK for West Regionals for me - I can get there
a lot easier than I can get to MPLS/St Paul and about as easy as
Madison.
 
  SO - Auburn in '02, or failing that - Ames in '02.  By '03 Iowa State
will be Div I so we'll be in Des Moines.  [These date are Year 2000
compliant, be sure you read them that way.]
 
  Stay tuned for the next solution to the World of Hockey profound
problems.
 
-glen-
 
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