Since Bill listed bests and worsts I thought I would add mine:

On 30 Mar 2002, at 13:58, [log in to unmask] wrote:

>             Best arena for the FF:  Bradley Center, Milwaukee  (I
>             haven't seen the Xcel Center yet)

Call me a homer, but I will say the FleetCenter in Boston (although
from everything I have heard it may well be the Xcel Center in a few
more days).

>             Worst Arena for the FF:  Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati

I agree, with Joe Louis Arena not far behind (I really did not like
the lack of leg room).

>             Biggest Arena:  Joe Louis Arena, Detroit

The same, but I would rather have more leg room.

>             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)

I recall reading in an article that the move was due to the death of
the primary organizer, but I do not remember where I read it.

As for my smallest arena, it is the 1980 Olympic Arena in Lake
Placid.

>             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)

I may be a homer again, but I think Boston is a very walkable city
(the Freedom Trail was planned to be walked).  However, the walk
form
the hotels to the arena may not be as short/nice.

My choice for best/favorite host city is Lake Placid hands down.

>             Worst host city/town:  Detroit

I have to go with Detroit, although I stayed in Farmington Hills as
BU
was unable to book more than a few hotel room in downtown
Detroit in
1990.

>             Best FF Weather:  Anaheim, CA (1999)

Milwaukee, WI in 1997.

>             Worst FF Weather:  Milwaukee, WI (1993)

I agree.  However both Boston (1998) and Cincinnati (1996) had
rain during the FF.

>             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.

Having missed the 1985 FF I would go with the 1999 field at The
Pond in Anaheim, UNH, Maine, BC and MSU.  A 2 goal game and
two overtime games, including the championship game.

>             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.

This is a hard one for me, as I think the field has been better since
I started attending in 1986.  However, I would go with the 1992 field
at Knickerbocker (now Pepsi) Arena in Albany.

>             Best Semifinal Game:  Maine vs. Michigan (1995) at
>             Providence Civic Center.  Maine wins 4-3 in 3rd
>             overtime.

I agree.  my runners-up would include the 1996 CC-UVM game in
Cincinnati, the 1990 Colgate-BU game in Detroit and the 1997 BU-
Michigan game in Milwaukee.

>              Worst Semifinal Game:  Lake Superior State vs. Boston
> University (1993) at Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI.  LSSU wins 6-1.

A tough one for me.  I think the 1996 BU-Michigan semi in
Cincinnati, a 4-0 Michigan win, was worse.  The 1997 UND-CC
semi in Milwaukee, a 6-2 UND win, is a runner-up.

>             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.

BU vs. Michigan in 1997 at the Bradley Center.  A great game and
a
great win for BU.

>             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

I have to go with the St. Lawrence vs. Lake Superior in 1998 at the
1980 Olympic Arena.  There was something special about two
small, out
of the way schools, each trying to win their first title, battling
into overtime.  Lake Superior wins, 4-3.

>             Worst Championship Game:  Lake Superior State vs. Boston
> University (1994) at St. Paul Civic Center.  LSSU wins 9-1.

Not much I can say other than "Thanks a lot!"

Sean


Sean Pickett          [log in to unmask]
Continuing my campaign to be voted 2003 Hockey-L Poster of the Year ;-)