As I mentioned yesterday, I sent a note to WCHC, the Holy Cross radio
station, telling them what a fine job they did.  Within a few hours, I got
an appreciative note back from Craig Lowell, one of the game announcers. He
included an mp3 file that he made up with excerpts from the WCHC broadcast
of the HC-Minnesota game.  I know I can't attach a file to a note going
through a listserver but I can send the file to anyone who would like a copy
of it. The mp3 is about 9MB and runs for about 10 minutes.


On 3/28/06, Erik Biever <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> This reminds me of the 2000 West Regional at Mariucci, where Niagara
> knocked
> off UNH to the delight of the Gopher fans in attendance.  The next night,
> Niagara took on UND. The Gopher fans again took the side of the underdog,
> especially since the opponent was one of Minnesota's biggest rivals.
>
> Same thing in Grand Forks last Friday night, except this time the underdog
> won.
>   Great fun for all, except for those wearing maroon and gold.  I can't
> imagine
> UND fans cheering for Minnesota under those circumstances.
>
> -- Erik
>
>
> Kirk Eisenbeis wrote:
> > This post has nothing to do with the radio threads, just the fan
> experience.
> >
> > Some note has been made of the Grand Forks, ND fans' overwhelming
> > cheering against the Gophers last Friday.  The Grand Forks Herald
> > article's measure of the fans was, "anyone but the Gophers," but I
> > don't feel that's accurate.  While I feel some schadenfreude over a
> > lauded rival's trip-up (who doesn't?), if it was Minnesota vs. a team
> > like Michigan or BC or BU, I expect the crowd support would be much
> > more split (I would usually be pro-WCHA).  This game, however, was the
> > perfect storm of reasons to cheer against those whom most Sioux fans
> > consider the biggest rival.
> > 1. HC doesn't have any history of rivalry with UND.
> > 2. HC is an achieving underdog, which is appealing.
> > 3. The Sioux are in this same bracket and a Gophers upset is a
> > significant event.  Even a poorly performing Gopher team has the
> > ability to awake and kick some butt.
> >
> > I talked last night to a friend of mine who was at the game, and he
> > gave me this amazing account, one that makes me jealous.  Here is his
> > story.
> >
> > A surprising 8,000 to 9,000 fans (capacity is ~11,500, GF population
> > is 50,000) were on-hand for the beginning of the Holy Cross vs.
> > Minnesota game, with more trickling in during the game.  HC hustled
> > and threw hits, which gave the crowd another reason to like them.
> > Scoring first gave hope that it could happen.  MN scored a shorthanded
> > goal to tie it and eventually went ahead 3-2 early in the third, which
> > felt like, "okay, that was fun but now it's over."  When HC tied it
> > 3-3 halfway through the third, it got really exciting as the
> > possibility to win was there.  When the game-winner went in, it was
> > complete pandemonium.  It was the kind of goal where you jump out of
> > your seat without having planned yet where you're going to land.  The
> > cheering was as big as that for any of the biggest Sioux goals, but it
> > was for a team that had just introduced themselves.
> >
> > Experiencing that moment is why we go to hockey games.  Much soda was
> > spilt that day.
> >
> > On the ice, before and after handshakes, the HC players reveled in the
> > atmosphere like a home team would: Coasting around with pumping fists,
> > waves and fan salutes.  After the game, the concourse was completely
> > abuzz with excited and jovial fans, even giving Doug Woog (!) cheers
> > as he performed the TV broadcast from the concourse.  Later, some HC
> > players were trying to eat in the arena but could hardly get a bite.
> > As soon as people would figure out who they were, they would get
> > approached and congratulated.
> >
> > This game was truly a great experience for all present.  (almost all ;)
> >
> > Kirk Eisenbeis
> >
> > .
> >
>