HOCKEY EAST SHOOTOUT POLL *RESULTS*                           6/3/94
66 poll responses were received.
 
QUICK SUMMARY OF RESULTS
* More than 80% of the respondents were against the shootout.
* More than 80% characterized themselves as strong supporters of
college hockey.
* Almost 60% saw fewer than 10 Hockey East games last season.  (Many
responses came from fans who follow other teams/conferences.)
* 91% said the knowledge that a HE game could have a shootout at the
end would *not* make them more likely to attend or watch a HE game.
1.5% said it would.
* 60% consider a shootout to be exciting but bad for hockey.  Almost
25% believe it is *not* exciting and bad for hockey.  16% consider it
exciting and good for hockey.
 
Results are given along with the original questions below.  The
percentage of responses reflecting the given answer is first, followed
by the actual number of responses with that answer.  Note that due to
rounding, some percentage sums may not equal 100%.  Also, on some
questions, if a person indicated a difficulty choosing between two
answers, I counted each as half a response.
 
Question 3 required a different kind of response, so the format of the
results there is different.
 
POLL BACKGROUND: 4 weeks ago, it was reported that Hockey East coaches had
approved a shootout to be used in regular season Hockey East games for
the 1994-95 season, and that the shootout would be used if approved by
the athletic directors this summer.  After some discussion on this subject
took place on the College Hockey Discussion List ([log in to unmask]),
I posted a questionnaire to the CHDL as well as to the Division III Hockey
List ([log in to unmask]) and Usenet's rec.sport.hockey.  The
results appear below and will also be forwarded to the Hockey East office.
 
1) How do you feel about Hockey East moving to the shootout format
exactly as described above?  Use a 1-5 scale where...
 3.0%  2   5 = Completely support
12.1%  8   4 = Somewhat support
 1.5%  1   3 = Don't care / Don't know
22.7% 15   2 = Somewhat against
60.6% 40   1 = Completely against
 
2) How would you describe your level of interest in NCAA hockey?
Use a 1-5 scale where...
80.3% 53   5 = Strong supporter
16.7% 11   4 = Above average fan
 3.0%  2   3 = Average fan
 0.0%  0   2 = Casual fan
 0.0%  0   1 = Uninterested
 
3) About how many games did you attend or watch on tv last season
involving one or more Hockey East teams?
TOT NO. OF GAMES SEEN BY RESPONDENTS: 801
AVG NO. OF GAMES SEEN BY EACH RESPONDENT: 12.1  (801 / 66)
RANGE OF NO. OF GAMES SEEN: 0 (low) to 65 (high)
 
RANGE OF GAMES SEEN        NO. OF RESPONDENTS IN RANGE & PCT.
     0 - 9                          39  59.1%
    10 - 19                         13  19.7%
    20 - 29                          2   3.0%
    30 - 39                          6   9.1%
    40 - 49                          4   6.1%
    50 - 59                          1   1.5%
    60+                              1   1.5%
 
4) If you had a chance to go to a Hockey East game or learned that a
Hockey East game was available in your television viewing area, would
the knowledge that a shootout might occur at the end make you more likely
to attend or watch the game before it began?
 1.5%  1   a) Yes
90.9% 60   b) No
 7.6%  5   c) Don't know
 
5) Which of the following best describes your opinion of shootouts in
hockey in general?
15.9% 10.5   a) Exciting, and good for the game
59.8% 39.5   b) Exciting, but not good for the game
 0.0%  0     c) Unexciting, but good for the game
24.2% 16     d) Unexciting, and bad for the game
---                                                                    ---
Mike Machnik                                             [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                     *HMM* 11/13/93
>>>>>> Dean Borrelli (C, Tacoma, AAA) .348, 31-for-89, 3 HR, 15 RBI <<<<<<