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From:
"Hampton, Nathan E." <[log in to unmask]>
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- Hockey-L - The College Hockey Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:59:35 -0500
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I know people probably wanted personal/event accounts AS they were happening, so I thought I would just throw the first stone out there and see what kind of ripples it makes.
(1) The City: Loved it -- right up there with Anaheim and Boston as towns with so much to do, you cannot do it all in the few days you visit. Eric and Paula made the right move and got there early and are leaving late. DC is so good it made me sore -- physically aching legs from walking around so much. The monuments, the museums ("1934 A New Deal for Artists" at the National Portrait Gallery was my favorite), the cherry blossoms (particularly around the Tidal Basin where the FDR and Jefferson monuments are), and the weather we all so good that you have to go back for more.
(2) The Venue: The Verizon Center is fine (no arena is great, except a few). Right on the metro stop, 2 blocks from the hotel, and right next door to the Hockey-L dinner.
(3) The Dinner: great fun. Plenty of room for even the kids to run around, and the willing adults to table-hop (it was Easter afterall). The food kept coming, and  I really liked it. Two problems (differences) - first of all we are becoming a very small group, and the networking skills and abilities that Hockey-L presents are best when the group is big. We really need to work on that. We should have a person-occupied table with flyers (much like USCHO did a few years back in Boston) to let the thousands of college hockey fans that we exist and how to join. Secondly, The structure of the event did not allow for what is my most fun thing about the Hockey-L dinner (and one tradition we have not kept up), which is the standing up and introducing yourself and your group and where you are from. However, John and Mary Beth were tremendously gracious hosts and kudos to their choice.
(4) The Games: better than expected, advertised, and some other frozen fours. I told my wife (who hates OT) when Miami got up 3-1 that "the way all the regional have gone this year, the game will get tied up in the last minute and we will go to overtime." The final was the FINAL, a great game of a great season. Bemidji State fans stayed and cheered, the Vermont-BU game was incredibly good fire-wagon hockey throughout the third period (and I am not a BU fan), and the locals who attended saw a tremendous display of what college hockey has to offer.
(5) The Hotel: very nice and convenient. You are two to four blocks from hotel front door to Verizon front door. Plus they had a bar where the Vermont faithful gathered before the semifinal game. And it was right on the edge of Chinatown, with some incredible restaurants (a great restaurant is a hole in the wall, and these were). Plus less than two blocks from the Metro stop, which when arriving at 11PM at night, really helps.

Nathan  

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