>I am also curious about how the Gophers are losing the home-ice advantage.
>The rinks are the same size, right?  And while it's true that now more
>Badger fans can attend the game, isn't there also a large waiting list for
>Gopher tickets?  Those people can now see this game.
 
The rink in Mariucci is larger than the typical NHL rink in the Met Center.
 
Gopher hockey is not a large draw in the Twin Cities; it competes for
attention with the Twins, Vikings, North Stars, Timberwolves, and Gopher
football and basketball.  I suspect that the majority of the extra tickets
will be sold to Badger fans.  I have no trouble with this -- the Wisconsin
fans are fun to be around, and their band is one of the best there is.  On
the other hand, we go from a largely pro-Gopher crowd to a more bipartisan
one.  This will be fun, but it is likely to diminish the "home advantage."
 
>As for the Gophers' record in Mariucci & out of it against Wisconsin, it's
>a little skewed.  The 12 of 14 at home over Wisconsin includes all years
>Minnesota hosted Wisconsin, even when Wisconsin wasn't a top-notch team.
>But the 3 Badger wins in St Paul come during seasons when Wisconsin was
>legitimately as good or better than Minnesota, by virtue of the fact that
>they were even there.  Maybe if there was a game in St Paul every season,
>Minnesota would still hold a sizeable advantage.  Is there a reason given
>for Minnesota losing in St Paul other than that the opponents were pretty
>good teams? :-)  Have the Gophers played at the Met and what is their record?
 
We may both need to consult our record books on this one.  There has been
a WCHA tournament game between Minnesota and Wisconsin in St. Paul each of
the last four years.  The Gophers have only won one of those games, while
during those same years the Badgers have rarely won in Mariucci.  This
includes both WCHA regular season games and NCAA playoffs.  Wisconsin
finished behind the Gophers in the WCHA standings three of those four years.
Why the Gophers have not fared well in St. Paul is one of the mysteries of
the universe.
 
The Gophers have played at Met Center against the North Stars, the US Olympic
Team, and even the Chinese Olympic Team (I was there!), but never another
college team.
 
>I might only be concerned about losing the advantage if Wisconsin is
>expected to be better than Minnesota, and if it can be shown that many of
>the people who would normally attend a game at Mariucci can't or won't
>go to the game at the Met.
 
I'm not too worried about it, as the game will be decided on the ice and
not in the stands.  I do find it disconcerting, though, to have one of
our home games moved off campus.
 
-- Erik