Just a note to everyone mentioning bad ice and bad arenas.
Prepare yourself for the worst in Cincinnati in '96.
I attended the NHL travelling show featuring the Flyers and Flames back in
Feb.  The Coliseum (where I assume the final four will be) seemed clueless
about hockey.  They had many months to prepare for the contest, yet the goal
lights were inoperative (the goal judges were given towels to raise when the
puck crossed the goal line).  The start of the game was delayed 40 minutes
because the crew was unable to set the goal posts correctly (due to ice
acculmulation in the post mooring holes) and the nets were and inch off the
ice.  The next day in the paper, the brief interviews with the players were
NOT filled with glowing comments about ice quality (it looked TERRIBLE from
row 10)
And, despite Miami's great season, the Cincinnati Enquirer (our one
paper) only ran a few brief articles during the CCHA playoffs.
I still don't understand how they got the finals here, but I hope they do
3 years of homework getting ready for it.
 
Dave Naghski  University of Cincinnati
 
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